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| Nina (Natalie Portman) in Black Swan. |
By Allan Heifetz
The rock star called Pink in Pink Floyd’s The Wall had a great many reasons to go completely bazonkers. His soldier dad died when Pink was little, his mom smothered him, his wife left him, the drugs, the drink, the Nazi-flavored paranoia, etc. All of these nasty ingredients combine in the end to smash Pink’s sanity. Nina, the meek ballerina of Black Swan, is also a sensitive artist with a large handful of issues that threaten her mind and eventually her life. She lives in near seclusion with her creepy and resentful mother (Barbara Hershey) and dances for a prestigious NYC company that runs her ragged physically and emotionally. Her scary director, Thomas (Vincent Cassel, playing the President of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace), demands perfection from her as well as 24-hour-access to her emaciated booty.
Nina has a brief moment of elation when she wins the coveted lead role in Swan Lake in which she must dance as both the white and the black swan. Her triumph is snuffed out after word is spread that she’s sleeping with the director. Nina becomes an outcast as Thomas continues to bully her into melding with her inner Black Swan in order to unleash the sexual, amoral and dark spirit inside. Alas, Nina is severely blocked sexually and can’t even successfully masturbate. Lily (Mila Kunis), a pretty, sexually open and popular dancer, tries to befriend Nina, but Nina’s delusion and paranoia quickly snuffs out that relationship. Nina is soon convinced that Lily is out to steal her role and destroy her. Nina’s hallucinations ramp up as she spirals down the crazy hole. Which side will seize control in the end; the white or the black? Always bet on black.
Black Swan is truly a rare bird; an extremely bleak story about ballet that somehow became very popular with filmgoers. Even though Natalie Portman put people in seats with her super-tortured and Oscar-winning performance, it’s Darren Aronofsky’s playfulness and technique with a camera that makes this horror story watchable and even fun. This is a horror movie where even the jump scares are artistic and breathtaking and the CGI effects are subtle. Black Swan feels like a little sister to Repulsion (1965), director Roman Polanski’s ode to isolation and sexual psychosis. If Repulsion is the ultimate “Girl descends slowly into madness” movie, then Black Swan just might be the Princess ballerina of the sub-genre that I might have just made up.
As far as DVD extras, there is an interesting, 30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary that leaves you wanting more. Unfortunately, that’s it.
The Blu-Ray extras reportedly offer the above documentary, plus three other behind-the-scenes pieces.
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