Shortly after filming The Phantom Menace, Natalie Portman wondered aloud in more than one interview if acting was in her future. Thankfully she decided it was as she has become one of the better actresses working today. One of her standout roles is in the new film Black Swan, now playing at Red River Theatres.
Portman plays Nina Sayers, a ballerina with a New York ballet company that is getting ready to put together a production of Swan Lake. Black Swan is Portman’s show and she doesn’t disappoint. Throughout the film, Nina falls deeper and deeper into psychotic delusions and paranoia and every bit of Portman’s performance feels real. The last 40 minutes of the film truly shows what Portman is capable of as an actress as Nina goes further and further down the rabbit hole. Part of her paranoia stems from her competition with Lily, played by Mila Kunis. Kunis gives a solid performance but it doesn’t stand out as much as Portman’s.
The ballet director, Thomas Leroy (played with lecherous perfection by Vincent Cassel), tells Nina that she is perfect for the White Swan because she strives for perfection. He also tells her that she lacks the passion to play the Black Swan, which Lily embodies perfectly. There’s no easier way to see that this is the case as Nina is always dressed in white and Lily in black. Black Swan is also unmistakably a Darren Aronofsky film. The director is known for his very raw and intense approach to filmmaking. The stories he chooses to tell also typically blur the line between what’s real and what’s imagined and this film certainly has his mark all over it.
Black Swan is likely to be an awards season favorite for best actress (Portman), best director (Aronofsky) and best picture, all of which would be well-deserved. This film is definitely one of the better releases from 2010 so be sure to catch it at Red River Theatres.
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