Black Swan Case
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Black Swan is a psychological thriller starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis. In my book, this drama about a ballerina on the verge of a nervous breakdown stands as one of 2010′s most powerful and memorable films, and it managed to leave a very big impression on me.
The story of the film revolves around the delicate, innocent ballerina Nina Sayers who gets cast as the lead in the ballets production of Swan Lake. The lead, however, must be able to portray both the pure, fragile White Swan and her dark, seductive twin, the Black Swan. While Ninas innocence makes her completely ideal for the part of the White Swan, she still lacks the necessary maturity and passion to dance the Black Swan. The dark and erotic world the Black Swan represents is a far cry from Ninas own, very much sexually repressed life with her overprotective, domineering mother Erica, a former dancer who achieved only moderate success, and now lives vicariously through her daughter.
The rest of the film is about Ninas attempts at finding the black swan within herself, and about how much the transformation will cost her, if it succeeds – and if she even will be able to return to her old self again? – Because it quickly becomes apparent that Nina does not have the most stable of minds, and her ruthless approach to the role is close to destroying her.
Along comes the new dancer in the company, Lily. Playful and easy going, Lily possesses every quality the rigid, controlled Nina lacks in order to perfectly embody the character of the Black Swan. The two of them begins a rather twisted friendship but soon, it becomes unclear whether Lily is actually trying to help her or just wants the role for herself – or is she only interested in Ninas body?
From here on, Nina swirls down into a schizophrenic spiral of alternately wavering paranoia and justified fear, where the lines between hallucination and reality becomes blurry and Nina is left dancing on a thin line between control and loss.
I was extremely impressed by this film, and from the very first scene I was drawn into the plot revolving around the ambitious and dedicated Nina. Her fall into madness is not only incredibly devastating to watch, but strangely beautiful as well – her obsession with perfection really became her downfall.
Visually, this film is a real treat too, with perfectly staged dance sequences and the swirling, intense, pirouetting camera moves puts the viewer right in Ninas shoes. Natalie Portman delivers a great performance as well and completely steals the show.
Black Swan is by no means a pleasant film; it manages to be both hauntingly beautiful and disturbing at the same time, and it makes you hold your breath to the very last scene. None the less, it is a film that I would highly recommend and while the ending may not leave you happy, it will leave you content and satisfied.