Black Swan is unmistakeably a Darren Aronofsky film. I saw it five days ago and still feel mildly anxious and strangely vulnerable, a post-viewing feeling I've come to think of as his director trademark.
Such is the film's visceral power that you're not entirely sure the story it tells isn't happening to you, an effect aided by the delirious pace and inherent confusion throughout over what is real and what is not.
It is impossible for your mind to wander while watching it, which is the mark of cinematic brilliance, but sometimes you wish it would, which to me is the mark of Darren Aronofsky's brilliance, but also the element of his directorial style that most divides viewers', if not critics', opinions of him.
Similarly to previous Aronofsky films Pi and Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan makes you very aware of your own body, and not in a comfortable way. It also makes you hyper-aware of the workings of your own mind, in a way that is genuinely disturbing, especially when you consider that Natalie Portman has compared the film to a Rorschach Test for each individual viewer.
Much has been made of the Rodarte costumes, especially in the fashion press of course, and they are perfect but, in a film where some of the major themes are transcendence and transformation and the perception of reality, it is the makeup and visual effects that are truly astounding. Nina's physical transformation into the Black Swan is one of the most terrifyingly beautiful moments of cinema I have ever seen, as is the much-anticipated sex scene between her and Lily.
Equally, the score plays a huge part in creating and sustaining the menacing atmosphere. Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake score is present throughout, but played backwards, creating the unnerving effect of things being not quite as they should be to anyone familiar with it.
Natalie Portman surpasses the hype, and is perfectly cast. Winona Ryder as the company's washed-up starlet is an equally inspired, brilliantly wicked choice. Every word of Vincent Cassell's company director Thomas Leroy's farewell speech at her retirement party, during which he pays tribute to her past brilliance but is very much emphasising the fact that this is over and it is time for someone else (Portman) to assume her role, could have been aimed at Ryder herself.
As for Cassell, I didn't think he was given enough to do. He pretty much had to just phone in the Frenchness and intensity. Ditto Mila Kunis with the sexiness and intensity. Both were very two-dimensional, with no hint of character motivation, which wasn't their fault and I'm guessing was part of the whole horror movie schtick, but still disappointing. In a similar vein the film is occasionally a little heavy handed. There is absolutely no subtlety here, which could be a little insulting if you are unwilling to accept that this is deliberate and just surrender to it, but works beautifully overall if you do.
I couldn't truthfully say I enjoyed the film but I wanted to see it again as soon as it finished.
