Synopsis: A ballet dancer (Natalie Portman) wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odile, the Black Swan.This film does a really good job of drawing you into the dancer's neuroses. It made me both confused and uncomfortable watching her mentally deteriorate and ultimately crack... and I think that's exactly what it's supposed to do.
It's a slow building psychological thriller that borders on horror. Yes, horror and ballet. Let that sink in a bit. So maybe there's where the effectiveness comes in. Ballet is delicate and beautiful, as is Portman's character for the most part, but underneath the surface there's some badass evil intentions here, caused by paranoia and stress. Who can't relate? The ending gets pretty wild, possibly a bit over-the-top even, but as it all broods and creeps along building the tension maybe that's what was needed for some closure and satisfaction.
Portman is fantastic as the frail yet powerful star and Mila Kunis is wildly sexy. Perfect casting it seems. Combined with the girl-on-girl action, drugs, catfights and enough sexual tension to bring down the curtains it equals a pretty riveting film.
It is a bit complex, at times maybe too much so for my feeble mind as I'm left with questions, but it's definitely tense, a bit deranged and above all rewarding.
8/10
