1. AoKuroiRaccoon

   9

   This movie is plain brilliant. The stronghold is its script as with all movies, but this one in particular stands out because of its very unique and dynamic development. The storyline is very original and it is putted out in the same way, with a very intriguing and terrifying psychological plot. The concept of madness is its central element, and it is unwrapped is a way that will make you feel it yourself. The horror also takes deep involvement in the telling of this story and it has a huge part on constructing the mind altering movie this is. Over another aspect; the acting is as well excellent, with wonderful performances that have proven to be an essential part of this production with major contributions to the whole feeling of it. Totally amazing, this dark and machiavellian title will challenge your mind as never before and make you experience the psychological evolution through unexpected twists until achieved the utmost insanity seen in this movie.… Expand

   • Helpful? 2 of 2 users said Yes.
2. RyanGee

   8

   Coming from a successful award circuit with The Wrestler - which consequently restarted Mickey Rourke's acting career - director Darren Aronofsky returns with the ballet-based psychological thriller Black Swan. Following in the footsteps of Aronofsky's previous films (Pi, Requiem For A Dream), Black Swan is a dark psychological nightmare with disturbing cinematography that freely crawls underneath the skin of its audience. In his newest venture, it seems as if Aronofsky took stylistic notes from Jean-Luc Godard and at the same time attempted to make a vague statement. Essentially, Black Swan is a film that has too much style rather than its implied substance. Like The Wrestler, Black Swan converges most of its attention onto a single character. Natalie Portman strays from her archetypal roles and impeccably plays the innocent character of Nina; an aspiring ballerina who receives the star role of the "Swan Queen" in an upcoming rendition of Swan Lake. The production of Swan Lake requires the queen to play the innocent White Swan and the provocative Black Swan. Primarily, the film focuses on Portman's conservative character, who must under pressure, contrastingly channel her inner malevolence to "perfectly" perform her role. Portman IS the highlight of this film. Like with Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler, Portman defines herself as an actress in this film. Although it takes an excessive amount of time to buildup to Nina's breakdown, the final half of Portman's performance is flawless. The spectrum of emotion and insanity she displays is so real, she has truly locked the "best actress" category for the upcoming award season.
   
   While Portman's performance is flawless, this brings to question the real point of the film. Aronofsky places symbolism in the film that is vague and at the same time obvious. With different scenes of shocking imagery such as the sensual scene between Kunis and Portman, it is really difficult to grasp why the film possesses such figurative scenes. There are various points of blatant symbolism, giving the impression that the film attempts to be deep. An exemplification of this complaint is the non-stop sensuality seen in the film. I acknowledge that it is to bring out Portman's immorality and show the effects of a disturbed artist, but there is just so much that it overshadows the brilliance of the film. There are too many figurative aspects in Black Swan. That is where the film loses substance, it tries to be cerebrally abstract even when it is not. The film really should have focused on Portman's mental breakdown rather than employing figurative imagery. Even though the film's "figurative" impression refrains itself from being a masterpiece, Black Swan is one of the best films that 2010 offers. Set aside the excessive focus on deepness, Aronofsky's film is visually gorgeous and its intensity immense. The visual imagery is the disturbing essence that you expect from the director. It digs into your emotions, and it stays there throughout the movie. Black Swan is gritty and raw, and the usage of handheld filming is subtle yet effective (unlike movies like **** which uses it in an irrelevant fashion).
   
   Overall, Black Swan is an excellent film that is not quite the "masterpiece" that many are saying it is. With that being said, it is still a quality film where its pros outshine its cons. Its visual brilliance and its suspenseful emotion makes up for the film's flaws. Black Swan will disturb and haunt its audience to the fullest. Hopefully audiences will just ignore the film's senseless statement. Grade: B+… Expand

   • Helpful? 7 of 11 users said Yes.
3. jeremyp

   6

   This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A beautiful, seriously flawed, at times laughable, melodrama. The only suspense, soon disposed of, is whether we are witnessing the descent into madness or a ghost story. Descent into madness it is! Sit back and watch her unravel, or rather metamorphize. Vincent Cassell is out of his depth in a role that requires more than his usual fetid pathological intensity. Natalie is sweet but her ultimate transformation seems like more than she can, or is allowed to, emote. The ultimate problem lies in the often weak direction which seems engrossed in pulp fiction or comic strip camp instead of the exploration of driven ambition.… Expand

   • Helpful? 5 of 6 users said Yes.
4. juliet1000

   4

   Way over hyped.
   
   Natilie Portman acts in a movie that is both bland and banal.
   
   I am amazed at the ridiculously high scores from the luvvie film reviewers.… Expand

   • Helpful? 3 of 4 users said Yes.

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