Black Swan

I love ballet. We have this home video and my mom snuck up behind me with the camera where I was dancing, unaware, to some classical number. I look hilarious. Like most children do when they dance. I've always loved dance. More than that, I've always loved ballet. As a child I thought The Nutcracker was the best of ballet. I got over that when Ia heard the score to Romeo and Juliet. It's so emotional. Add some iconic choreography and you have got yourself a tear jerker. But then I saw Swan Lake. The story, the music, the angst all come together to create a beautifully overwhelming and tragic story. At the end of last year, director Darren Aronofsky and writers Mark Heyman and Andres Heintz came together themselves to tell this story on screen. 


Natalie Portman was chosen to play ballerina Nina Sayers, who wins the lead in Swan Lake. While perfect for the role of the White Swan, she slowly loses her mind trying to free herself of the inhibitions preventing her from owning the role of the Black Swan. 


Portman carries a wonderful fragility. This enables her to embody her imperfections and inhibitions in a wonderful way. It also stands in stark contrast to the evil that later emerges as she suffers psychologically. The Academy Award given (as well as every other award) was well and wholly deserved. Up to that point Mila Kunis plays a polar opposite to Natalie's fragility. This pairing is golden. Kunis, largely known for her role as Jackie on That 70's Show, is welcomed in this more serious role. 


While sexually explicit at points and horrific at others, this film will stay with you for days. And we should return to its inspiration; the ballet and its original score. For their story and themes are the reason such wonder has occurred.