Dancing on a volcano

Black Swan  by Darren Aronofsky     ★★★★

With Black Swan, a film that premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2010, Darren Aronofsky proved himself once again as a very talented director, tackling interesting subjects, such as ambition, jealousy, identity, obsession, self-sacrifice and insanity.

The screenplay is based on The Understudy, an intriguing story by the American writer Andres Heinz about the rivalry between two ambitious dancers in a New York ballet ensemble. The artistic director of the ensemble (played by French actor Vincent Cassel) wants to stage his own choreography of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and is looking for a new dancer to replace Beth (Winona Ryder) as prima ballerina. The young, devoted, but insecure and inhibited dancer Nina (Natalie Portman) is under pressure from her meddling mother (played by Barbara Hershey) to get the part. Once a ballerina herself, Nina's mother hopes to compensate for the failure of her own dancing career with the success of her daughter. Nina, however, faces competition from Lilly (Mila Kunis): a new, extroverted and attractive dancer, who is also prepared to go all the way to become the group's new star dancer.

Alter ego's

Natalie Portman as Nina.

The lead part in Swan Lake requires the physical and mental ability to express not only the innocence and grace of the white swan, but also the sensual seduction and unscrupulous cunning of the black swan. The role of white swan fits Nina like a glove, but Lilly seems the perfect personification of the black swan. Pushing herself to outshine Lilly, Nina has to explore the dark side of her own soul in order to incorporate the black swan. In turn, Lilly uses her feminine, sassy charm to gain favor with the artistic director. During their fierce artistic and psychological duel, the two ballerinas get entangled in a dangerous web of intrigue, in which ambition, jealousy, betrayal and a ruthless drive for perfection push Nina to the brink of madness.

Reality or fiction?

Mirroring brilliant dance films in which on- and offstage action intermingle, such as The Red Shoes (1948) by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, and Carmen (1983) by Carlos Saura, the lines between fiction and reality are blurred in Black Swan. This results in a fascinating, genre-transcending film that balances between a psychological drama, an erotic thriller and a postmodern fairy tale with horror elements. The story is skilfully edited in such a way that the viewer still has some grip of what's going on while the plot of Swan Lake develops parallel to Nina's confusing exploration of her own identity.

Nina wants to break free from her domineering mother, and stand on her own two feet. But while desperately trying to (re)discover herself, Nina is also afraid to lose herself. Still, she finds the courage to delve into deep, dark passions that go far beyond her own artistic ambitions and touch the essence of human desire. Thus, the erotic dimensions of the intelligent, layered screenplay unfold in the dance scenes and in the scenes that show the budding sexuality of the shy, introverted and prudish Nina.

Mila Kunis as Lilly.

Pygmalion

Natalie Portman won an Oscar for her demanding and believable portrayal of Nina's transformation. And the charismatic Ukrainian actress Mila Kunis, perfectly cast in her supporting role as the unfathomable Lilly, won the Marcello Mastrioni Award for Best Emerging Actress at the 2010 Venice Film Festival, where Black Swan was shown as the opening film. Vincent Cassel, however, lacks charisma in his role of the ruthless choreographer who plays his dancers against each other and molds them like a modern day Pygmalion. 

Visual flair

The atmospheric cinematography, evocative make-up and expressive costumes in the revealing denouement, during the performance of Swan Lake, are reminiscent of the cinematic magic in The Red Shoes (still the most beautiful dance film ever). Most of the other scenes are filmed in a more sober and realistic cinéma vérité style, which contributes to the credibility of the story, but sometimes at the expense of the magic in this contemporary fable. Yet, even in those scenes, Black Swan is visually interesting enough for this unique and surprisingly thrilling adaptation of Tchaikovsky's timeless fairy tale.

JN.

Black Swan - USA - 2010.

Cast: Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey and Winona Ryder.

Genre: dance / psychological drama / erotic thriller / horror