Director Darren Aronofsky likes his tragic heroes. From a struggling genius in Pi, fatalistic drug addicts in Requiem for a Dream, to faded ex-professional wrestlers, all spiralling toward that sink hole of self-destruction. Now, with Black Swan, Aronofsky sets his sights on a struggling ballerina, suffocated by an over-protective mother, and held back by a seemingly unobtainable goal of artistic perfection.
Like we said: Aronofsky likes his heroes tragic. But the forty-one year old director creates a comfortable (if broken) home amongst these characters, and manages to control source material that, in another's hands, could easily melt into melodrama. Nina is no exception: a jittery girl poised on the blade of artistic brilliance, brought to life by the always-talented Natalie Portman (an Oscar nomination a strong possibility), she's representative not just of the darker aspects of the ballet world, but Aronofsky's continuing exploration of the human condition. And ballet has never felt more menacing.
Cuts, bruises, broken toenails. Important to Black Swan is the idea that, what appears so effortless on stage, is something of enormous difficulty, both physically and emotionally, for everyone involved. Including the audience.
It's a dark, surreal ride that takes us down some surprising turns (both nightmarish and comedic) and, like the ballerinas, constantly on our toes. The camera does a lot of this work, often tilted at strange angles, refusing to stay still for long. But, as demonstrated in The Wrestler, Aronofsky gets his best results with the lens held firmly on his characters.
It's a lesson he sticks to for the majority of the film, only to be lost in a dazzling yet emotionally unsatisfying final act, which builds to a plateau rather than the high he's demonstrated himself more than capable of.
Still, as far as plateaus go, it's certainly not one you'll forget in a hurry.
B+
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