Darren Aronofsky’s (Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler) Black Swan, premiered to rave reviews at the Venice film festival earlier this month. The Oscar buzz has already begun for Natalie Portman’s searing performance in the psychological thriller.
In this dark drama set amidst the highly competitive world of New York City ballet, Portman portrays Nina, the rising star of her dance company. When she is tapped by Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel), the handsome and somewhat sinister head of the ballet company to take the lead in the new production of Swan Lake, the downward spiral begins.
Nina embodies the grace and innocence needed to portray the White Swan but does she have the guile and sensuality to dance the dual role of the Black Swan. Pushed to the limit by her overbearing stage mother (Barbara Hershey) and tested on all levels by Thomas, Nina’s on point world begins to shatter.
On the verge of nervous breakdown Nina forms an uneasy friendship with Lily (Mila Kunis), a rival dancer, who is opposite of Nina in every way. Lily is the embodiment of the Black Swan, carefree and highly sexualized.
Is Nina’s attraction to Lily a natural curiosity about someone opposite to her own experience of life or is Nina studying Lily and pushing her own limits so that she may better perform the Black Queen role? Or, is Lily merely a delusion, the darker repressed side of herself, created by Nina’s cracking mind?
Find out when Black Swan opens in the US on December 1, 2010.
Comments