C.T Recommended #64: Black Swan (2010)

Directed by Darren Aronofsky

Starring: Natalie Portman

This review is part of the #transformersevent , where we at #TheFreshPotatoesClub review films with actors who were transformed for a role. For my pick, I decided to review Natalie Portman and her role in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan.

The plot follows Nina (Portman), a ballerina who is competing for a role in the production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. While competing for the part, the pressure causes Nina to lose her grip on reality, as she slowly slips into madness. Let me start with Natalie Portman's fantastic Academy Award winning performance. Portman perfectly encapsulates and expresses Nina's self-destruction as she strives to be perfect for both the roles of the White Swan and the Black Swan in a competitive environment, and her dedication through her transformation for the role was every evident. As you may know, being a ballet dancer is very tasking on the body and requires losing a large amount of weight. Apart from taking ballet lessons to train, Portman also lost 20 pounds for the role, resulting in her very skinny appearance in the film. Portman's performance accompanied with Aronofsky's great direction, takes you on a breath-taking and wild ride. My only complaint really, is that there were some writing choices I felt were a bit over the top and unnecessary.

The film's cinematography was fantastic and coupled with Clint Mansell's jarring reimagined score based on Tchaikovsky's music, is powerful and beautiful. The film's realistic production design captures Nina's character and personality , and the brilliant costume design and makeup helps isolate the White Swan's personality from Black Swan's.

From the film's bold narrative and bizarre, yet beautiful visuals, to Portman's career-defining performance, Black Swan is mesmerizing film that importantly discusses and highlights the theme of perfectionism and it's consequences, especially in a competitive industry such as that of ballet.

My rating: 9.0/10