Black Swan - (December 17th, 2010): R
Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Opening Weekend Box-Office: #7 with $8,383,479
Domestic Box-Office Gross to-date: $36,068,000
Gross Revenue: $36,220,093
Budget: $13 million
Directors: Darren Aronofsky
After he collaborated with Mickey Rourke to take a different look at the world of professional wrestling in 2008’s surprise hit The Wrestler, many would no doubt be curious to see director Darren Aronofsky tackle the complexity inherent in ballet dancing. In fact, Aronofsky himself considered Black Swan a companion piece to The Wrestler, as both focused on the demanding types of performances required for a given type of art form. Because Black Swan was distributed by Fox Searchlight (which usually specializes in independent films), the marketing for the film was understandably simple; following a strong premiere at the Venice International Film Festival and an equally impressive limited release in early December, all that was required of promotional materials was to highlight the critical accolades the film received before it opened nationwide. Given the strong Oscar buzz surrounding both the film and acting quality, there was little doubt that I would see Black Swan, but I couldn’t help but notice that the trailers were a little unclear regarding the genre to which Aronofsky’s newest project belonged. Obviously, elements of drama would be inherent in a film about ballet, but there were little, if any, indications to support the strong psychological and horror undertones described by friends who had already seen Black Swan. Needless to say, I was cautiously optimistic.
Centered on a prestigious New York City ballet company’s preparation for the production of the classic Swan Lake, Black Swan tells the story of young dancer Nina Sayers (Portman), who desperately wants to be cast in the lead role of the Swan Princess. Because the role requires the same dancer to portray both the innocent White Swan and the seductive Black Swan characters, director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel, best known to American audiences as the antagonist of Ocean’s Twelve) has his doubts concerning Nina, who is perfect for the White Swan but lacks the edginess to portray the Black Swan. Instead, newcomer Lily (Kunis) is a better fit for the Black Swan, and even though she seems to befriend Nina, it is clear that she also desires the lead role. After a confrontation where Nina reacts in an uncharacteristically aggressive manner, Thomas decides to cast her, but the pressure of the role combines with paranoia that Lily is trying to sabotage her, and Nina begins to have very intense and haunting hallucinations. As the pressure continues to build, which is only further aggravated by the dancer’s overbearing and controlling mother, Erica (Barbara Hershey), Nina continues to break psychologically, and the hallucinations start to allude to a darker personality shift. With opening night approaching, questions rise as to whether Nina can handle the duality required to follow her dream role.
Easily the strongest aspect of Black Swan is Natalie Portman’s performance, who portrays Nina as so off-her-rocker crazy that it is both baffling and unsettling; I definitely will never look at her the same way again. Portman’s onscreen persona is only further enhanced by Aronofsky’s brilliant directing, which uses both cinematography and scoring to build shocking levels of tension to complement Nina’s thoroughly horrifying hallucinations…the combination makes the film unnerving and difficult to watch, yet the end result is still impossible to turn away from. Besides Portman, Mila Kunis is a welcome addition to the cast, bringing a level of humor and lightheartedness that helps break up the dark tone of the film. However, Kunis also brings a subtle level of passive-aggressiveness to the role, which makes it difficult to determine if she is a friend or foe to Nina, thereby adding a deeper dimension to the competition that surrounds the two dancers. One strong surprise is the addition of Winona Ryder, who plays the troubled former dancer that Nina is replacing and therefore alludes to the toll that ballet life will eventually take on the film’s struggling protagonist. Though the strong psychological and horror undertones present in the film were unexpected, both actresses more than deserve the accolades they have received thus far, making Black Swan a strong and dramatic, if haunting, thriller that moviegoers won’t soon forget.
Unfortunately, though the dark tone of Black Swan adds a stronger dimension to the acting present in the film, as the narrative progresses the hallucinations become a little too supernatural, shifting the metaphor of Nina’s personality transformation from haunting to ridiculous. During one of Nina’s extended breaks with reality, she starts sprouting black feathers and her legs violently contort into those of a swan, and the pacing of the scene is so frantic that you might actually end up laughing at the overwhelming level of insanity. Not helping some of the overly dramatic themes of Black Swan is the core story, as landing a lead role in a ballet just doesn’t seem worth Nina’s increasing levels of mental illness…don’t get me wrong, I understand what it means to be passionate about a dream, but I doubt anyone would argue against Nina toning it down a little bit. As I said before, Black Swan is difficult to watch, whether Nina rips off one of her own fingernails or starts stabbing herself in the face with a nail file; I guess I can appreciate the artistic themes present in the hallucinations, but for the squeamish, you have been warned. In all likelihood, you will either love or hate Black Swan, as some of the overdone elements within the film can be a definite turn-off for audiences.
Despite the strong overall quality of Black Swan, the box office performance of the film in its opening weekend was definitely hurt by the sheer volume of competition, with four other new releases offering a far broader level of appeal. Yet, like The Fighter, Black Swan had a relatively small production budget, so Fox Searchlight has little to worry about, recovering more than half of its expenses with receipts of over $8 million in three days. With Oscar season just around the corner, I am very curious to see how Black Swan will perform, and though I think Mila Kunis’ performance more than deserves a nomination for Best Supporting Actress, I think that Portman will actually end up taking the award for Best Actress. Clearly, Black Swan is not for everyone, but if you are expecting a dull ballet movie, your instincts are way off the mark, as strong acting and direction make this film wholly unforgettable.
Overall Recommendation: High
