Day 56: I Felt It. I Was Perfect.

BLACK SWAN (2010)
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder

This movie freaked me out.  And coming from a guy who was unfazed by Eraserhead and El Topo, that's saying something.

The story concerns Nina (Portman), a young ballerina who dreams of dancing the White Swan in "Swan Lake."  However, when the director Thomas (Cassel) announces his new take on the piece, things get a bit complicated: The White Swan and the evil Black Swan will be played by the same dancer.  Nina's got the White Swan down, but she's not much in touch with her dark side.  Therefore, her Black Swan suffers.  But Thomas sees potential in her, so he casts her in the lead, much to the chagrin of retiring dancer Beth (Ryder).  Nina tries and tries, but she can't quite get the darkness and seduction Thomas is looking for.  So he tries to seduce her out of her shell.  Along the way, the new girl Lily (Kunis), a green but very passionate dancer, is cast as Nina's understudy. 

Sounds like a pretty common plot thread, right?  Well, while all this is going on, Nina slowly starts to lose her grip on reality.  Her dark side that has been suppressed for so long bubbles to the surface.  But it is filmed in such a way that the audience can't quite get a hold on what's really happening - whether it's part of the story, or if it's all just in Nina's head.  The more Nina lets loose, the more the Black Swan consumes her until she begins a very literal transformation.

Let me get this out of the way: I love Darren Aronofsky.  I think he's one of the most brilliant directors working today.  The first film of his I ever saw was Requiem for a Dream, a film about the depth junkies will sink to in order to get their fix.  It's visually stunning, and extremely graphic; it should be required viewing on day one for anyone going into rehab.  Black Swan is a very similar film.  Aronofsky pulls no punches in his portrayal of a woman losing her mind.  And, in a way, the audience feels they are losing their minds as well.  This is a very difficult trick to pull off, but it's not impossible.  The key is being completely and totally fearless, which Aronofsky has always been.  Heck, even his film The Fountain, while incomprehensible in places, is a fearless film, made by a director who knows exactly what he wants and goes for it full-throttle.  There aren't many directors today who can say that.

I was completely on edge by the time the end credits rolled.  I felt as if I had gone with Nina on this journey down the rabbit hole into the darkest depths of her soul.  And if that sort of feeling excites you, I recommend this film highly.  But I don't want to tell anyone to skip this movie.  Even if it scares the living daylights out of you, it's a great example of how a director can play an audience like a piano.