Director Darren Aronofsky, whose first film was the Kaballah-themed thriller “Pi,” appears to have an Oscar contender on his hands with “Black Swan,” a ballet-themed psychological thriller.
Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman heads up a mostly Jewish American cast that includes Winona Ryder, Barbara Hershey and Ukrainian-born Mila Kunis. Portman plays repressed perfectionist ballerina Nina Sayers, who has been selected for her first prima ballerina role in “Swan Lake.” She replaces the New York troupe’s reigning – and aging – star, played by Ryder.
When artistic director Thomas Leroy... “Black Swan” – Cate Marquis (St. Louis Jewish Light)
Director Darren Aronofsky, whose first film was the Kaballah-themed thriller “Pi,” appears to have an Oscar contender on his hands with “Black Swan,” a ballet-themed psychological thriller.
Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman heads up a mostly Jewish American cast that includes Winona Ryder, Barbara Hershey and Ukrainian-born Mila Kunis. Portman plays repressed perfectionist ballerina Nina Sayers, who has been selected for her first prima ballerina role in “Swan Lake.” She replaces the New York troupe’s reigning – and aging – star, played by Ryder.
When artistic director Thomas Leroy... Black Swan — Mathew DeKinder (Suburban Journals)
Pressure is a funny thing. It can create diamonds, it can crush eggs, and if you are an emotionally unstable ballet dancer, it can do both.
“Black Swan” takes us inside the rise and fall of a timid dancer named Nina Sayers. Nina is brilliantly played by Natalie Portman who endured a year’s worth of ballet boot camp in preparation for the role.
Nina is technically proficient, but is a bit of a wallflower and she seems as surprised as anybody when she lands the coveted role of The Swan Queen in her company’s production of “Swan Lake.”
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Ballet dancers usually show little or no emotion when they’re on stage. They must be saving it up for later, and when it all gets going, they turn into quite a group. This certainly is proven in “Black Swan,” which opens today. Natalie Portman, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder, Mila Kunis and others shed their tutus and go off in all directions at once as Swan Lake turns into Bloody Lagoon and drama takes a holiday in favor of melodrama.
With lovely ballet sequences choreographed by Benjamin Millipied, who also dances, and some glorious cinematography by Matthew Libatique, it’s a beautiful film, and director...
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