Black Swan

10/10 E.M
10/10 C.E.

  An absolutely brilliant and perhaps even flawless film. Of all the movies that are out right now in theaters this one is pure and simply my favorite. A strong warning to parents this movie is very very rated R. Starts off PG for the first 30-40 mins just long enough to make you fall in love with it and not care about how risque it gets as it goes on. It has just about everything that you could put in an R rated film save surprisingly nudity so not a movie for kids most likely or anyone who may be uncomfortable with what would come in the territory of an R rated film.

  Natalie Portman does an incredible job in this movie and it is without a doubt her best performance yet and maybe even the best anyone could have asked of any actress in the same role. She steals your heart in the first thirty minutes of the film as said before showing a sweet innocence along with the hunger and drive of a ballet dancer. She goes on throughout the film to show an amazing range and ability to act out every emotion required and shows the slow transformation of her character along with the deep running psychosis. Portman is plain and simply spell binding.

  The soundtrack for the film is of course a nice selection of classical music that does an excellent job of augmenting the movie blending in with the action and highlighting just the right points all in all couldn't be done better if anyone tried. The plot is pure and simply genius and above all  captivating even for those who have no interest whatsoever in ballet or Swan Lake. This said it felt almost like watching an amazing take on the classic Swan Lake along with the back story of the actress performing it strangely making me wish I could see the entire play once it's performed in the movie and not just some of it. The character development is incredibly thorough with different levels to each character not a single one of them even the mom being just cookie cutter background noise. Another beatiful part to this film is it's symbolism that can be seen throughout the film even in subtle things such as Nina's putting on a black skimpy shirt over her white shirt as seen in the club scenes, downright brilliant.

  Mila Kunis does a great job as the source of Nina's jealousy embodying the freedom and passion that Nina feels hesitant to pursue and is seemingly out of her reach at first. Mila does a great job of being the new kid in the studio where we can clearly see her eagerness to fit in and please. Her bad girl devil may care attitude is infectious and fun exactly what the role calls for and her chemistry with Portman and comedic timing is well done and more importantly easy to recognize often drawing laughs from audience members. Vincent Cassel  does a good job of being the brilliant and seductive director showing both sides of his character along with concern for each of the crew members in the play.