MEN in tights, frilly pink tutus and a coma-inducing running time are perhaps the first thoughts which spring to mind for non ballet enthusiasts.
But there’s certainly no chance of catching forty winks in Darren Aronofsky’s taut psychological thriller set in the world of a New York ballet company.
Natalie Portman stars as Nina, an impossibly pristine and perfect dancer consumed by her work and living with her overbearing mother who zealously supports her professional ambitions.
When lecherous artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth Macintyre (Winona Ryder) for a fresh, avant garde production of Swan Lake to open the company’s new season, Nina is his first choice.
But to add a certain edge to his production, Thomas has decided the role requires the dancer to play both the White Swan and the Black Swan.
With her squeaky clean image, Nina certainly fits the former role, but with the dangerously sexy new recruit Lily (Mila Kunis) an ideal candidate to play the sensual Black Swan, can Nina get in touch with her dark side before her rival snatches her dream role away from her.
As the pressure mounts for Nina to find her inner bitch, she rapidly loses her grip on reality and spirals out of control into a world of paranoia, delusion and nightmarish fantasies.
Aronofsky’s film is intended as a companion piece to his award-winning The Wrestler, again exploring the themes of bodily extremes, souls in turmoil and pulling the audience into the characters’ sometimes disturbing psyches.
Like Mickey Rourke’s wrestler, Nina is fiercely driven and terrified by the thought of personal injury, constantly examining her body for the smallest signs of weakness.
After a string of embarrassing performances in the dismal Star Wars prequels and V for Vendetta, Portman has finally redeemed herself in Black Swan.
In a stunning return to form, Portman perfectly balances the troubled ballerina’s mental frailty with her ruthless ambition to succeed.
Hauntingly beautiful and disturbing, Black Swan will niggle at your mind long after the credits have rolled.
And set to Tchaikovsky’s stirring score, the film casts a powerful and frequently terrifying spell which will have you transfixed in both fascination and fear.
Black Swan is nothing less than a masterpiece. Bravo and encore please.
Black Swan (TBA) is released in cinemas nationwide in February.
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