After receiving her Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama, the hype surrounding Natalie Portman’s performance and this movie in general had grown to the point where when it came out I just had to see it.
It is easy to see straight from the off how Natalie managed to get hold of the accolade she rightly deserved, as her performance as the Black and White Swan in the film during her ballet performance was trumped by an amazing performance as her character, Nina, in the film, who slowly reveals her own darker side as she loses her mind over an intense rivalry she has with co-star Mila Kunis.
The film is about Natalie Portman’s character Nina who is a ballerina for a ballet company in New York. With her life consumed by dance, she is aiming for the lead role in their new adaptation of Swan Lake, and although she is perfect for the role as the White Swan, she is told by her artistic director Thomas Leroy, played by Vincent Cassel, to show him her darker side in order to get the role.
After showing him some “bite” she is chosen for the role, but continues to have tough competition from new arrival Lily, played by Mila Kunis, who seems to stop at nothing in order to impress Thomas and ruin Nina’s dream of playing the lead role.
This film may be a bit off putting for those of you out there who aren’t really interested in dance or ballet, like myself, but keep watching a give it a chance, because the film does turn out to be a lot darker, scarier, sexier and intense then I was expecting.
The relationship between rivals Nina and Lily turns into a twisted friendship, where you are not sure whether to trust Lily’s actions or not as they party late on the town, which ends in a night of passion. The relationship as well between Nina and her obsessive and controlling mother, played by Barbara Hershey, adds another tense dimension to the film, which really does contain everything, even a bit of gore.
Overall the film is very good and very well made, with a great performance by the whole cast and a great story which leaves you confused up to the very last shot.