Black Swan: A Film Review Essay

Every 1 has heard of ballet, some perhaps just that, while others practice it or just enjoy realizeing it on stage. Most people crap also heard of Swan Lake, maybe even saw it performed in one or another adaptation, as there are many. Then there is Black Swan directed by Darren Aronofski, which leaves most other adaptations in the shade.Darren Aronofski is a most certainly an ingenious director hes proven that with Black Swan, as well as with his previous films which, according to Ryan Fleming, can justifiably be classified as being disturbingly brilliant, or brightly disturbed depending on your point of view, and Black Swan is no different. Darren Aronofskis Black Swan is a psychological thriller the main storyline revolves around Nina Sayers, depicted by Natalie Portman. Nina is a ballet dancer in the New York City ballet company.Ninas devoted her entire life to ballet, she does not care round relationships with other people as long as she can dance she swears to be perfec t in either possible way. Both her devotion to ballet and the longing for perfection are fuelled by her mother Erica, a former ballet dancer of moderate success. However, despite Ninas self-imposed isolation from the oddment of the dancers, she sees a rival in Lily (Mila Kunis) when it is announced the role of the Swan Queen has emptied. Much to Ninas surprise, the role becomes hers.But there is a catch the director, doubting Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel), wants one dancer to play the characters of both the White Swan and the Black Swan, two opposites. In spite Ninas excellent skills and performance, Thomas fears she is not only fit to play the role of the Black Swan, and thus he imposes his own methods to make Ninas true self emerge. Nina is not aware of that, and when combined with her desire for perfection, it causes her psyche to fluctuate she even begins to hallucinate, In the end, Nina achieves the so much desired perfection, but for a heavy price.Portmans portrayal of the character Nina is, without a doubt, one of her best performances ever and truly breathtaking. The character is immensely expressive and she pushes everything from one scene to the other, from one point to the other, all the way up to the end. The film more than or less follows the traditional dramatic triangle the slow escalation and the build-up of the tempo towards the climactic resolve.Ninas fluctuating personality ollows that passage, and she drives everything with it somewhere along the escalating way, her psyche splits and manifests itself in a surprising manner. It is difficult to draw a line between the reality and the imaginary, between the truth and the illusion. The story as such, Ninas psychological development, is greatly supported by both visual and sound effects. The impact the film leaves you with would not be the same without those effects they add an even more clear-sighted feeling of mental exertion.Ninas scratches and body deformations (a result of her fluctu ating personality and hallucinations), for example, look as real(istic) as possible. The climactic end could as well gibe an avalanche. The tempo intensifies, it is almost without control the rapid changes of scenes, colours and sounds, supported by music, leave the audience without much time to think about what is going on. In the climax, Nina becomes the embodiment of the Swan Queen, her winged shadow reflected on the back wall of the stage and then the Queen falls.The downfall is Ninas end after she has carry out her desires, wishes and dreams. All in all, if you want to get blown away, then Black Swan is indeed a film you must see. It is magnificent and, as asshole Bradshaw puts it, ionospherically over the top, and some of its effects are overdone, but it is richly, sensually enjoyable and there is such fascination in seeing Portman surrender to the madness and watch her face transmute into a horror-mask like a nightmare version of Maria Callas. Brace yourselves before you w atch it, make sure you are not one of those with a sensible disposition, it might be too much for you then. You will either like or hate Black Swan, the middle path is virtually impossible to take. It is a film you watch once as it shall remain in your head permanently. A true masterpiece worth every single minute.