Darren Aronofsky has built a career on showing the brutal cost of obsession on the soul. In Pi it was mathematics, in Requiem for a Dream it was heroin, in The Fountain it was Biology, and in The Wrestler it was wrestling. He pulls no punches in his visceral depictions of the gradual descent into catastrophe of his protagonists as they lose themselves to their chosen poison, it can make for hard viewing but he has proven himself to be a director with a clear, if not somewhat bleak view of the world. It is a theme he once again explores in his latest film Black Swan, this time examining the unlikely world of ballet with the same sense of inevitable destruction as he attributed to heroin, maths, and professional wrestling. But this is no ordinary film about ballet it is a slice of psychological horror featuring one of the most unique transformations since Cronenberg’s The Fly.
Natalie Portman stars as Nina, a young and emotionally fragile dancer in Vincent Cassel’s world famous ballet group. When lead dancer Winona Ryder is forced into early retirement by the forceful choreographer Nina realises her dream role of the swan queen in a new version of Swan Lake, however the part requires her to play both the innocent white swan and the evil black swan, requiring a release that she cannot allow. Her maestro’s frustration with her inability to let go, combined with the pressure placed upon her by her overbearing push Nina to breaking point, and things are further complicated by the arrival of Lily, a beautiful and wild dancer who poses a threat to Nina’s spot. Slowly Nina begins to change into something she does not recognise, both physically and mentally as the black swan gradually takes control of her soul.
Just as he did with the world of wrestling Aronofsky captures the shocking toll of ballet on the bodies and minds of those who pursue it as a career. For every shot of a graceful plié or en pointe there is a counter shot of the harm these women endure. We see broken bodies, vomit, blood, and tears. Clearly this obsession is as destructive as any he has previously explored. Like Mickey Rourke before her Portman throws herself into the role, she is utterly convincing as a dancer and her performance carries a weight of tragedy that all but erases the memory of her wooden performance in the Star Wars prequels. Parts of this superbly written film are genuinely shocking, but not just the brutal and fantastically realised transformation scenes. Because Nina is so well realised it is easy to empathise with her so watching her destruction proves as harrowing as any moment from Requiem. If Black Swan is indeed a horror film then it has more in common with the work of Kubrick or Argentino than any of the recent torture porn films that pass for horror these days. Black Swan is a study of repression and obsession, but more than this it is a beautifully constructed film by a fascinating artist.
Review by Elliot Hyams
No comments:
Post a Comment