Magnificent Obsession

While "Pi" (1998) announced Darren Aronofsky as a major new talent, it was "Requiem for a Dream" (2000) that indelibly etched his name into the movie books as one of the new auteurs in American cinema. His latest, "Black Swan", takes the madness and persecution mania of "Pi" and the individualised devastation of "Requiem" and places it in competitive ballet. The result is rather breathtaking.

Nina Sayers (Oscar nominated Natalie Portman) has her heart set on the starring role as the Swan Queen in her company's revival of "Swan Lake". The manipulative Thomas (Vincent Cassel) tells her early on that she is great as the White Swan - pure, untouched - but lacks a certain force and dimension when she attempts to embody the Black Swan - carnal, hungry. It is clear from the very beginning that something is not right in Nina's world, that something is askew. We understand the film's terms: we are joining a potentially mentally unstable young woman on a dark journey. To add further stress to Nina's already surfacing mental fragility, Lily (Mila Kunis) joins the company as a dancer. In addition to this threatening outsider figure, Nina's mother (Barbara Hershey) has controlling means of her own.

"Black Swan" is one of the few films where, from the opening frames, you know you're in for something special. The film opens with a dream sequence, motifs of which effortlessly find their way into Nina's waking life. The story of Swan Lake also becomes a mirror (talking of key motifs) of Nina's own struggle to contain her psyche while trying to let her id out enough to construct a credible performance. Nina's struggles with sexuality, her performance and her over involved mother culminate in a stunning final 20 minutes of precision editing enhanced by Clint Mansell's unsettling score. Aronofsky skillfully toys with perception and subjectivity, using the mirrors to suggest never ending space while the strict confinement of Nina's mother's apartment and her room appear truly claustrophobic.

Much has been said of the comparisons between this film and Aronofsky's previous effort, "The Wrestler" (2008). One should not be quick to force parallels. While "The Wrestler" also dealt with one character's dark journey as complemented by the virtues and vices of others, "Black Swan's" emphasis on psychological spillover and self-destruction results in a more potent motion picture.

Some critics have called the film absurd and deliciously melodramatic (occasionally intending the labels as compliments). While there may be some validity to those descriptions, I think it has more value to refer to the film's style and form as directly corresponding to Nina's increasing instability. Ever since German Expressionism the mind was shown as a fragile thing, and "Black Swan" is a masterful demonstration of that fact. Here is one of the best films of the year.