Review of Black Swan (2010) by Steviegjd — 05 Dec 2010

Black Swan is an imperfect film. But it is thought provoking and interesting. I am not a fan of ballet; in person it bores me to tears. But I do respect the athleticism and talent involved in the process.

The ballet in this movie is merely the context of the story, not the point. This is also not about a rivalry between two ballerinas, which was written by another user. That may be implied by the trailer but it is not what's going on; I bet that person did not see the movie.

This is about a woman who is losing her mind, imagining lots of things including a rivalry that is more about her limitations and flaws than anything else. My only complaint about the movie is either about how Natalie Portman played Nina or how Nina was written or how Arronofsky wanted Nina to come across.

I'm not quite sure which one. The problem is that Nina is so sheltered and so scared and so naive and so timid and so repressed that her character doesn't ultimately make sense. The time and effort that go into such a career are monumental, as is the amount of rejection and judgement to which these people are subject.

It simply is not realistic on any level that Nina could have gotten as far as she did in the world of ballet while being on such a weak psychological precipice. It makes the story easier to believe, Portman looks on the verge of tears many times in this movie.

But anyone who had gotten that far in such a difficult profession quite frankly would have more mettle. But that person wouldn't psychologically crumble as easy as Nina. Still it is interesting. Is Nina's mom living vicariously through her daughter (because she had to give up her career) or is the mom so over-protective that she has kept her daughter in a state of perpetual childhood.

I suspect a little of both. Is Lily a potential ally or is she the rival Nina perceives her to be? Did Lily help Nina by giving her ecstasy or did that hasten Nina's downfall? I had hoped that it would have been less clear what was real vs.

imagined. It sure seemed pretty obvious.