Becoming the Black Swan
It’s been awhile since I felt like giving a film a standing ovation, but the mastery of a film like Black Swan makes me want to do just that. Black Swan just hits so many of the right notes. A solid story, some genuinely creepy scares and a forceful finale give this behind the scenes revision of the ballet classic Swan Lake some serious bite. Black Swan stars Natalie Portman as a fresh-faced ballerina who is chosen to play the Swan Queen in her company’s winter production of Swan Lake. Though Nina is a natural as the innocent and guileless Swan Queen, she discovers she must also play her nemesis, the seductive and cunning Black Swan who seduces the Swan Queen’s prince and drives her to suicide. The film is the story of Nina’s terrifying journey to embody both roles. Black Swan has been called a psychosexual thriller for good reason and the film’s sexual tension goes hand in hand with Nina’s creative tension. Under her mother’s strict eye, she works hard to be the perfect dancer he...