Movie Review: Black Swan

So let's go through the check list first.

1. Hot chicks.....Check
2. Hot chicks have sex together......Check
3. Single hot chick fucks herself harder than I ever imagined was possible......Check.

Are you still reading? Seriously? Why are you not on your way out the door right now? We can talk about the movie when you get back.






Alright, your back. Let's talk about the movie. Natalie Portman plays a ballet dancer who nabs the lead role for Swan Lake. The twist on this timeless classic is that the White Swan and the Black Swan will be performed by the same dancer. The catch is that the White Swan and the Black Swan, literally and figuratively, are complete opposites and therefore must be danced with two equally different styles. Portman's character, Nina, fits the White Swan to a T. It's her transformation into the Black Swan that makes this movie interesting.

Now, I know what your thinking. Am I really suggesting you to watch a movie about ballerinas? Yes I am. The first scene should change your mind about the whole dancing aspect. The choreography along with the camera work and music make it really intense. After that scene the psychological thriller begins and you forget its ballet we are dealing with here. Director Daren Aronofsky once again takes something I don't like and makes it into a great story (see The Wrestler).

This guy has a natural gift for provoking thought and making one cringe (see Pi and Requiem for a Dream). In the course of this movie I covered my eyes twice, got three separate erections, and changed my mind about just what the fuck was going on at least 4 times. It's all there. It's a really fucking crazy movie. But I enjoyed it, even though I'm still not sure what to believe happened after the final credits rolled.

The movie is very metaphorical on several different layers and I really like that about it. I don't want to give too much away, but I will say it is all based around the transformation into the Black Swan (duh?), but non just the character, the movie seems to transform with her. Finally there is one more transformation that I was kind of turned off by but in the end it revealed itself to be pretty fucking cool.

This is one of those movies that you realize you like more than might have first thought. The more you analyze it and relive the scenes in your mind (and I can think of a couple all of us will be reliving over and over again in the bathroom), it is almost like peeling away the layers of an onion; there really is a lot more too it than first meets the eye. Definitely going to need a second viewing from me. Maybe not in theaters, but I will be watching this again.

I didn't talk about any flaws in the movie, and I probably don't need to. There just aren't that many that stand out and ruin any given scene. In the words of Nina Sayers, "I think it's beautiful....It's perfect."

Rating: 4.5/5