To start, it’s official. Darren Arronofsky is a genius. He’s made great movies before. Requiem for a Dream was freakishly good and The Wrestler was simply amazing. You might think I’m biased or predisposed to like an Arronofsky offering. You might think I’m one of those fake asshat internet reviewers who plays favorites. Well, I both like M. Night Shymalan and think Avatar: The Last Airbender was one of the best animated shows of the last 15 years. And I HATED The Last Airbender. There was some potential there (which actually made it more painful to watch), mostly in the supporting actors (except for the retard who played Soka); but an epic failure is still failure. A steaming pile of shit doesn’t smell any better for being epic. But I digress…
Anyway, though I’ve enjoyed his other work, Black Swan is hard evidence of Arronofsky’s genius. I hate ballet. I mean no disrespect to those gifted athlete/artists who dedicate their lives to it; nor to those who can appreciate it. But I’ve never been able to appreciate people jumping around in costumes(says the former pro wrestling fan and current hypocrite). When I say I hate ballet, I’m more recognizing a flaw in myself than mocking the art form. I just have no appreciation for it. It bores the living crap out of me.
So when I’m sitting on the very edge of my seat during a movie about ballet; THAT is a fucking achievement in storytelling. I was utterly engrossed in a story about a prestigious New York ballet company’s production of Swan Lake and the struggle of a new headlining ballerina to get into her dual roles in the production. ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT.
At its core, the film is about artistic interpretation and what an artist has to go through. It’s much like The Wrestler in that sense. The art forms are different and the tone of Black Swan is much darker; but at their core, both movies are about what people go through to express their art. (yes, I used the word art to describe pro wrestling; its not the canvas its what’s on it, long live Sting!) In this ballet, specific feelings have to be conveyed through the dancer to the audience. Natalie Portman is a ballerina who is called to convey, through her dancing, complex emotions that she (she’s basically been homeschooled and still lives with her mother) has never actually experienced. Through her journey to imagine these emotions in order to express them on stage; her hold on reality begins to weaken.
Vincent Cassel is great as a (possibly insane) driven director and Mila Kunis co stars as 180 proof sex.
You will involuntarily attempt to cover your eyes at least once.