Reviewed by: Tom Stoup
Nina, pretty ballerina. Meek, regimented, insulated ballerina. O, she is the queen of the dancing floor in Darren Aronofsky's fifth feature, but this ain't exactly what Benny and Björn had in mind when they penned the referenced ABBA single. Framed around Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake", "Black Swan" is a journey through the artistic process' various sacrifices as paralleled by an escape to freedom.
Acts one and two are seldom striking yet generally involving, with cinematography so intimate a cut to wide feels awkward. I occasionally recall last year's "Public Enemies", in which Michael Mann's shaky-cam stylings sailed overboard, rendering even calmer close-ups headache inducing. Widely, though, Laurence Dunmore's "The Libertine" comes to mind with swirling, long takes encircling performers as organic extensions of their craft. The intense, unbridled third act redeems its predecessors' intermittency with indelible imagery and payoffs for each setup, with the single exception of a questionably included sub-subplot. One could deem the qualitative progression a humble representation of our lead's own shifted demeanor, though little is humble here.
This is a film seen through mirrors. Weighted, reflective symbolism tells our tale, with many major plot points and the main character arc occurring solely through allegory. Advantageously these emblematic layers interlock seamlessly and sensibly in context, from catalysts and symptoms to their victims and beneficiaries and beyond - to the audience ourselves. Not only does Nina's story reflect "Swan Lake" and see extensions of that relationship personified, it all centers on a performance of the notorious ballet itself. Touches of fawning, nonverbal melodrama and Clint Mansell's strong, accent-heavy score create an occasional ballet-as-film feel - not necessarily reliant on but often accompanied by the presence of actual dance.
Aronofsky is ever exploring new storytelling methods, his films thus far differing wildly in style from one to the next. 2008's "The Wrestler" has been the greatest departure yet, almost warranting docudrama status compared to the precise handling of, say, "Requiem for a Dream". A slight pattern has emerged in the director's protagonists. These stymied characters are surrounded by stereotypical colleagues and approaching apparent finality with a crucial decision: take a soft path or leap (sometimes literally) into a black hole. In this regard, of Aronofsky's work "Black Swan" is most similar to "The Wrestler".
A far cry from my favorite Aronofsky, "Black Swan" is nevertheless a trip worth experiencing. Some among us may catch themselves in its glassy loom. I take away, along with the pleasure of the better aesthetics, a somewhat cautionary yarn detailing horrors of full dedication to a form outside your control. Is it worth it for the sake of art? At a certain point the tenebrous distinction becomes indubious; It is at that point we truly comprehend sacrifice.
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