Eye Candy #493 - "Black Swan"

Black Swan:  Director Darren Aronofsky is nothing if not thought-provoking.  This time around we get the story of a repressed young ballet dancer who wins the lead role in a revisionist production of “Swan Lake” and crumbles under pressures both real and imagined.  And while the movie is ostensibly about ballet, it is *not* a “ballet movie”, but rather comes across as a more gyno-centric version of “Jacob’s Ladder”, as the main character grapples with what is real and what isn’t.  Natalie Portman is Nina, the one of the most repressed female characters committed to film since “Carrie”, both sexually and psychological, who lives in a small apartment with her smothering mother (portrayed by Barbara Hershey, who you almost expect to hear rail about “dirty pillows!”) who strives to keep Nina from growing up (Nina‘s bedroom is a pink nightmare filled with stuffed animals, even though Nina is over 21).  When a new dancer arrives in the company, Lily (portrayed by Mila Kunis), Nina‘s fragile psyche begins to warp, with Aronofsky’s disturbing images abounding as reality and fantasy blend together.  Vincent Cassel is here in support.  Good performances all the way around, particularly Portman and Kunis (glad to see Kunis getting to stretch her dramatic chops more and more).  The cinematography successfully conveys a feeling of claustrophobia, portraying the small world of Nina (her apartment, the ballet studio, with outside shots done very closely).  Not for all tastes, sure, but another winner from Aronofsky.  Woodchuck sez, “Check it out.”