Black Swan was one of the front runners for the majority of the gongs at the Academy Awards and deservedly Natalie Portman received the Best Actress award for what was possibly the best acting of her career. But was it simply Portman's stellar turn that should receive praise or was Darren Aronofsky's dark thriller a piece of cinematic class?
Nina Sayers (Portman) is an innocent ballet dancer striving to make it as the lead in the latest production of Swan Lake, led by Vincent Cassel's strict instructor Thomas. She has all the characteristics to represent the White Swan but lacks the dark side to unleash the Black Swan inside of her.
Waiting in the wings is the newest member of the ballet, Lily (Mila Kunis) who has charmed Thomas with her grace and ability to adapt to the role of both the Black and White Swan. She is the ideal candidate for the lead role but Nina has other plans, pushing herself to the limit in order to land that coveted role that she has dreamt about all this time.
In order to prove that she can fit the role, Nina soon begins to embrace her dark side, something that slowly takes her over and has her imagining things beyond the usual quiet life that she leads. With this, her mother begins to become concerned with the role taking over Nina's life but this will not stop her from getting exactly what she wants.
Black Swan is a masterpiece in film-making and Darren Aronofsky deserves huge praise for creating such a tense and dark thriller from a lesser acknowledged art form in this day and age. As previously mentioned, Portman's performance is near perfection and Kunis and Cassell both provide great support with roles in which we never know what side they are on. A tense build-up throughout the whole film makes terrific viewing and the finale, backed by an absolutely fantastic soundtrack brings the curtain down which great poise.
Film rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The lowdown: A worthy Best Actress for Portman in what can only be described as one of the best films of the year so far. Tension and darkness at its best.
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