Black Swan 2010

Black Swan 2010:
    I really liked this movie, I've seen it twice, once in the theater and once on DVD.  I'm glad I saw it on the big screen because of the scope of the cinematography and just the broadness of the screenplay.  Some images are difficult to watch and make you cringe even through they are small instances such as pulling back skin from a hangnail, cutting fingernails with scissors and cutting the finger too.  There are some portions where it is difficult to figure out what is real and what is psychological paranoia or fantasy.  I don't want to give a lot of it away but the times she sees herself in front of herself, you know she is not experiencing reality but in others you have to pay attention to what other people are seeing to know what is real.  I wondered about the "rash" or "scratching" on her back and I didn't understand that she pulls out a black feather from her back plus the dimpling is like bird skin.
    As a viewer you really have to appreciate all the work that went into preparing for and the execution of all the dance sequences by actors who are not ballet dancers.  Of course, there are professional dancers doing the intricate toe work but the transitions from the actors to the dancers is seamless and not noticed by viewers.  There was controversy after Natalie Portman won an Academy Award for Best Actress over how much she was in the scenes.  It is obvious when her face is included that she was in a major portion of the scenes and it was verified by an actual count of her scenes.  Both Portman and Kunis lost so much weight during filming that the Director became worried about their health.
    Nina is under tremendous stress to dance as the lead ballerina in the New York City Ballet's performance of Swan Lake as both the white Swan Queen and the black Swan Queen.  She can easily give perfect execution of the white role but the black role is much more difficult with the severe constraints she puts upon herself in her life.  Her mother was a ballerina who gave up her career to raise Nina, she is a tremendous help but she is also living vicariously through Nina.  The scenes where the ballet company have their opening performance in front of the audience are amazing, you are almost in the room as well.  Reality and fantasy blend seamlessly in the section with the black Swan Queen.  At the end of the movie, you think WOW!  4*  (I really liked this movie)

108 min, Mystery & Suspense, Drama, directed by Darren Aronofsky with Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 1/2*, imdb 8.4 out of 10, critical 88% and audience 85% on Rotten Tomatoes