The Land of No Return

The next film in discussion is Black Swan. Directed by Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler), this film is the epitome of beauty and tension. Starting with the beautiful cast of Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and the driving force of the film, Vincent Cassel, and adding to that the beauty of Aronofsky's direction.

The story follows the timid perfectionist, Nina Sayers (Portman), in her quest to be the leading role in the annual production of the ballet, Swan Lake. Her aspiration to play the graceful white swan as well as the evil black swan is her ultimate goal. And with pressure from her mother (Barbara Hershey) and her director/choreographer (Cassel), Sayers performance of the rolls becomes perfect, all the while her life and her psyche begin to quickly and unpredictably unravel. However, the plot builds slowly and perfectly to a crescendo at which point the film ends.

This is another film that is worth the accolades and the hype. Each cast member delivers a near-perfect performance and Aronofsky's work behind the camera captures those performances wonderfully. If you have a light heart, however, you might want to approach this film with heavy caution. It is intense, dark and eerie in so many fantastic ways.