February 2, 2011
I left Black Swan shaking, and it wasn't with pleasure. This film grabs you by throat and leaves you gasping so hard that you need treatment. Urgently. My treatment comprised a cup of tea and a cupcake at The Jericho Cafe. It took a while to work...
The whole film is one long balletic steamroller. Everything is out of balance, from the very start, and the viewer is flung from one intense moment to the next throughout. Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) is a young dancer who lives, breathes and self-harms ballet. When she's not pirouetting, she's living with her claustrophic and unfulfilled mother in a cramped and fussy New York apartment.
We are made aware of Nina's mental fragility from the start and, once we see her mother's frankly poor paintings becoming animated, we know we're heading for psychosis quicker than you can say tutu.
Black Swan does nothing for the image of ballet, but it certainly packs a powerful punch. See it and expect your emotions to be put on the rack. Mine were, and I don't expect to have such an intense cinematic experience for some time to come.
The whole film is one long balletic steamroller. Everything is out of balance, from the very start, and the viewer is flung from one intense moment to the next throughout. Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) is a young dancer who lives, breathes and self-harms ballet. When she's not pirouetting, she's living with her claustrophic and unfulfilled mother in a cramped and fussy New York apartment.
We are made aware of Nina's mental fragility from the start and, once we see her mother's frankly poor paintings becoming animated, we know we're heading for psychosis quicker than you can say tutu.
Black Swan does nothing for the image of ballet, but it certainly packs a powerful punch. See it and expect your emotions to be put on the rack. Mine were, and I don't expect to have such an intense cinematic experience for some time to come.