Movie Review: Black Swan (2010)

New Movie Review: Black Swan (2010)

What IS a horror movie?  This is a huge question which has no concrete answer(s), sparks many personal responses, and definitely won't be answered in this review.  Furthermore there's perhaps no other filmmaker than Darren Aronofsky who makes even the biggest horror fan ask themselves this question.  I remember back in 2000 when Fangoria Magazine called Aronofsky's REQUIEM FOR A DREAM "the best horror movie of 2000, and its not even a horror movie."  But Fangoria had balls listing REQUIEM as the best horror film of 2000.  Its was a pretty horrifying tale of addiction and letting one's demons get the better of them.  Now with his latest release BLACK SWAN, Aronofsky has the entire genre asking the question, "Is BLACK SWAN a horror film?"  When I first heard about this project and read plot summaries about it I was thinking that it wasn't horror.  At best it sounded like a psychological thriller.  But after seeing BLACK SWAN I can honestly say that it is indeed a horror film (albeit not in the traditional sense of the word) and I'm also proud to include it as part of our genre.

Nina can't even breath without mommy knowing about it!!

Let's cut to the chase:  BLACK SWAN is an absolutely amazing film and I loved every second of it.  Is there ballet in it?  Yes.  Is there a lot of ballet in it?  Yeah; there kinda is.  But the ballet is so integral to the story, the characters and the overall meaning of the film that you won't find it standing out and apart from the film.  Look; I'm no lover of ballet ... I don't understand it and I really don't care to understand it so trust me when I tell you that you shouldn't be put off by the story's inclusion on ballet.  But if you're looking for a story that'll grab you from the opening scene, acting that should have caught the attentions of the jokers over at the Academy Awards, and an atmosphere full of suspense, paranoia, tension, and expectation then you've come to the right place.
The film begins with Nina Sayers (played brilliantly by Natalie Portman) dreaming about dancing the lead in the ballet "Swan Lake."  As she wakes we are introduced to Nina's morning routine she's been doing pretty much all her life:  She wakes up, stretches, warms her body up for the day, and then eats a very stoic breakfast of grapefruit and orange juice.  And Nina's mother, Erica Sayer (played by Barbara Hershey), is right there next to Nina every step of the way.  In fact Erica doesn't let Nina do anything for herself and treats her like a 12 year old.  Nina then travels into Manhattan where she's a member of a ballet troupe which is getting ready to open their new season.  The film takes its time and Aronofsky lets us really get to know Nina.  She's an extremely timid and innocent girl who's been sheltered her entire life by an overbearing mother who is herself a frustrated ballet dancer who gave up her career when she got pregnant with Nina.

Thomas (Cassel) puts an extraordinary amount of pressure on Nina.

That day Nina tries out for the lead in "Swan Lake", the story about a girl who is turned into a swan and only love can break the spell.  But the girl's love chooses the black swan over the white swan and this causes the girl to kill herself.  During her audition for the lead, the troupe's director Thomas Leroy (genre fav Vincent Cassel, who starred in CRIMSON RIVERS, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, & IRREVERSIBLE) tells her that if the role were only for the White Swan then she'd be perfect.  But the lead role is dancing both the parts of the White and the Black Swan, which requires passion and a carnal sensuality ... qualities, Thomas tells Nina, she lacks.  But of course Nina gets the lead (or else we wouldn't have a movie) and things quickly start going downhill for her.
The writing here is brilliant.  There's a lot of clues right from the opening scenes that Nina has a lot of psychological issues.  They aren't thrown in our faces but are very subtle clues and innuendoes.  We also get the notion that Erica knows this about her daughter but has only acted to try and keep Nina functional with her neuroses.  But with the arrival of new dancer Lily (Mila Kunis) Nina starts experiencing very elaborate hallucinations.  Is Lily out to take the lead role from Nina or is everything Nina's experiencing a result of her deteriorating psyche?  There's no doubt, Nina is under tremendous stress:  She's getting older (for a professional dancer, anyway), she feels a lot of competition from Lily, she has a overbearing mother that does everything for her (including bathing her and sleeping in her bedroom in a chair so she can watch over her), she's extremely sexually repressed, and director Thomas is pushing her hard to "let go" and embrace the Black Swan-side of her personality.  All these elements combine and come to a head in the final act in the film.

Letting the Black Swan take herself over.

Besides the amazing acting, writing, and directing, you'll also find that the atmosphere Aronofsky creates here is unique to his films.  We're watching a young woman crack from the pressures coming from her personal and professional lives and as she tries to explore and identify with the Black Swan side of her personality.  The more she embraces this side the more her grip on reality lessens.  I know that nothing I described here sounds like a horror film but just wait until you see how everything unfolds.  Aronofsky presents a nightmarish film that reminded me of Roman Polanski's REPULSION and even his ROSEMARY'S BABY.  This is a character study of a young woman who is loosing her grip on reality (but doesn't realize she is) and those closest around her do nothing to help her.  BLACK SWAN may primarily be a psychological drama but watching Nina's grip on reality slip is a truly horrifying experience.

Cutting lose with Lily ... or is she??

I asked above, "What IS a horror movie?"  Horror isn't only a masked man walking around with a machete killing sexed-up coeds; it isn't only torture-porn; and it isn't only films with ghosts, killer aliens, vampires, and zombies in it.  Horror, to me, is also that uneasy feeling you get watching something knowing that things aren't going to turn out well.  Horror is a psychological framework your mind puts on films as well as the effect that films put on your mind (i.e., it's a "horrifying" film).  In a conversation with fellow reviewer Travis Brown, who writes for the website www.destroythebrain.com, I asked him how people can sit through BLACK SWAN and not consider it a horror film.  His response sums it up best:  "Because those people can't see the beauty of the dark in that film."  Well said and I also think it's because people take "horror" for granted and have too narrow a view on what horror is.  But trust me everyone BLACK SWAN is indeed a horrifying film that will have you thinking about it long after you've seen it.  It's a great film, I loved every second of it, and I can't recommend it enough!!

As it turns out this is a pretty appropriate mirror view for Nina!!

On a side note; there's a lot of scenes here of finger and toe mutilation.  These are especially important scenes that in a way help document Nina's descent into madness.  But seriously Aronofsky ... dude ... lay off the graphic finger and toe mutilation scenes for fuck's sake!!  These scenes had me curling up my toes and fingers into balls and squeezing tight
My Summary:
Director:  Darren Aronofsky
Plot:  5 out of 5 stars
Gore:  0 out of 10 skulls
Zombie Mayhem:  0 out of 5 brains
Reviewed by Scott Shoyer