Black Swan - 4 smiles

Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan’ is a psychosexual thriller starring Natalie Portman as a ballerina descending into madness and absolutely the best performance of the year. This movie is not for the squeamish, however, because it’s an experience that’s uncomfortable by design. Much of the action takes place in the fevered imagination of Nina (Portman), a 20-something dancer with a version of the New York City Ballet. She begins falling apart when she lands the lead in a ‘re-imagined’ production of Swan Lake. This is a disaster for the self-mutilating and insecure Nina, who still lives with her mother, a failed ballerina (Barbara Hershey). Magnifying Nina’s fears is Thomas (French actor Vincent Cassel), the company’s arrogant dance director, who repeatedly expresses doubt about her ability to play the more challenging part of the ballet’s dual role – The Black Swan – who tricks the prince into thinking she’s The White Swan. Thomas encourages Nina to explore her sexuality, to ‘loosen up.’ But the greatest threat to Nina’s sanity is Lily (Mila Kunis), a sexy, hard-partying newcomer to the company whom Thomas names as Nina’s understudy. Nina quickly becomes convinced that Lily is out to get her job.

Cassel, Kunis and Winona Ryder (as Beth, Thomas’ aging lover and prima ballerina he’s pushing into retirement) are all top notch. The huge triumph, though, is Portman, a favorite for the Best Actress Oscar for her dazzling performance as the skeletal and tortured Nina. And director Aronofsky triumphs as he balances some truly creepy, bloody stuff with some stunningly beautiful ballet sequences and uses Tchaikovsky’s immortal music to truly striking effect. “Black Swan” is definitely hard to watch in many places, but you’ll want to see it again. 12/11/10