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Moviola > Films > Black Swan Black Swan (15) 104 mins Where can I see this film?
Nina (Natalie Portman) is a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her retired ballerina mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) who zealously supports her daughter’s professional ambition. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth Macintyre (Winona Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, “Swan Lake,” Nina is his first choice, but Lily (Mila Kunis) also impresses. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side with a recklessness that threatens to destroy her. Natalie Portman's performance won her the Oscar for Best Actress, and the film itself was nominated for Best Picture. "Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, which opened the Venice Film Festival last night, is bravura moviemaking: a wildly ambitious psychodrama about a ballerina consumed with angst and jealousy as she prepares for her biggest role. Some of the international press in Venice seemed discomfited by the sheer extravagance of Aronofsky's directorial style – his attempts to introduce thriller and even horror movie elements to what at first seems a traditional backstage story. Like Nina herself, the director often risks losing his footing but that is what makes the filmmaking so exhilarating. Some scenes are overwrought. Others (notably a clumsily shot lesbian sequence) verge on the prurient. More often, the effect is enthralling." The Independent "Rebellion, jealousy, paranoia and obsession are the themes and Aronofsky dares to explore the flip side of beauty, with all its ugly consequences – all in pursuit of the perfect performance." Urban Cinefile "Black Swan is presented as a psychological thriller with a twist: the viewer's perspective is that of the lead character and her sanity is in doubt. As a result, the film's sense of reality is warped. Sorting fantasy, nightmare, and hallucination from what is real is likely to require multiple viewings and careful conjecture. Aronofsky has created a twisted piece of art." James Berardinelli For more information, and to see a trailer and stills, visit www.foxsearchlight.com/blackswan
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