Black Swan

It was tipped for Oscar Glory, we review the ballet, the acting, and of

course, the fashion.

I remember the first time I went to see a

production of Swan Lake; and I remember the first

time I danced it. The dynamics of the ballet and

the beauty of the costumes merged so well to

produce excitement and magic on the stage that I

have never seen reproduced; and never imagined

would be able to thrill the audience on screen.

Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thriller Black

Swan is as mesmerising as the ballet. It has the

ability to transport you in to the beautifully dark world of a professional New York Ballet

company, while never losing the grace and elegance we all associate with this classic style.

It is hard to categorise Black Swan in to a single genre; drama, fantasy, thriller, though I do

believe that psychological thriller describes it best. In short, the film parallels Swan Lake –

Nina (Natalie Portman who trained tirelessly for a year and dances 90% of her scenes) is a

beautiful dancer, though stuck in the ballet corps, until the Prima Ballerina: Beth Macintyre

(Winona Ryder) is forced to retire. Nina, along with several others is finally given the chance

to try out for the Swan Queen, Odette, in their new production of Swan Lake. Unfortunately

for Nina, while exquisite and ever so graceful, she struggles to “lose herself” in the dance,

after spending her life trying to be perfect, she struggles to let go of her technique and

embrace the sexual charisma of the Black Swan, Odette’s evil twin Odile.

The film follows Nina from beautiful dancer to paranoid mess as she struggles to transform

herself into Odile at any expense. She battles against her

own sexuality, her own analytic nature and her rather

unhealthy relationship with her mother in her quest for

absolute perfection.

The true magic is surely in Aronofsky’s ability to take, what

could be a beautifully clichéd story and turn it into

something perverse and deeply unsettling. Black Swan’s subtle nuances in to the quest for

human perfection, the relationship between failed stage-mother and prima-daughter, and

the journey from virginal girl to sexual woman – epitomised by Mila Kunis’ character Lily -

creates reality in what should, in most counts, be deemed purely fantasy.

While the aspects of ballet company life may be nothing but clichés, one can’t argue that

Black Swan isn’t about showing us so much

more. It is about the inner-workings of a

pressurised Ballerina’s mind.

Team that with the beautiful costumes

designed by Rodarte and Portman’s Oscar-

worthy performance, Black Swan is the must-

see film of the year, and one that is destined to

become as well-known as Swan Lake itself.

While seeking perfection, Aronofsky, Portman and Rodarte have unexpectedly, discovered

it.

I am Kerry-Louise Barnaby Guest Writer