The Black Swan

The Black Swan is one of those really artsy movies you can't help thinking about after watching it. It's very well made, kind of over the top though and a bit scary. Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) is a professional ballerina. She's very rigid, delicate and involved with her career, actually too involved. In a new play called "The Swan Lake," she's chosen to be the lead by a charming but manipulative director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Casserol). In her role, Nina has to play "The White Swan," a role that she's perfect at. But she not only has to play the White Swan role that shows vulnerability, fragility and meticulous perfection, but also another role, that of the "Black Swan," which is loose and sensual.

Natalie Portman does a very good job in portraying her character as a strained and obsessive artist, desiring perfection. After every single practice, she vomits. And for breakfast she readily eats a grape fruit, and that's it.

Trouble starts when Nina meets another ballerina Lily, who seems to fit the role of the "Black Swan" perfectly. Lily is everything Nina is not: confident, bold and attractive.

Because of her repressed way of life and her secret desire to be free, Nina starts having dark fantasies and hallucinations, several of which include, a "Black Swan" mirror image of herself trying to take over, killing Lily, her feet getting webbed together, her fingers bleeding, etc.

All this mental havoc continues consuming her, until the end, when she reaches her final act....

I feel like her mom has a part to play for Nina's destruction, asking for nothing but perfection from her daughter.

I would recommend this movie if you like thrillers and are looking for a new movie experience. This movie might have connections with real life too: with obsession for an art.

It's like Heath Ledger and the pill overdose: how far are you willing to go to master your art. And is it worth it?

Nina seems to think so.