Black Swan

The next edition of film reviews from Tillman 313 is the film Black Swan. I should start by saying that Black Swan is not a film for everyone. It’s a psychological thriller that centers around the famous ballet Swan Lake, hence Black Swan. Swan Lake is about a princess that is turned into a swan.

The basic plot of the film involves the main character Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) being chosen for the lead role in Swan Lake. This is the first lead for her at this prestigious ballet studio and she couldn’t be more excited. However, the lead for the ballet must be able to play as the White Swan as well as the Black Swan. The White Swan is very structured and innocent, whereas the Black Swan is more passionate and fluid in the motions. Nina is not passionate or fluid. A new girl comes in, Lily (Mila Kunis), and she has a personality that fits the Black Swan role. As Nina competes for her role against the newcomer Lily, she finds a dark side in herself.

The film was made in 2009 and released in 2010. The two main actresses, Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, both trained extensively for the film. They trained for six months prior to filming to obtain the proper body type and muscle tone. Portman trained in ballet, cross-training, and swimming for five hours each day. Kunis trained in cardio and Pilates, working out five hours daily, seven days a week, and lost 20 pounds from her already 117 pound body. The actresses really committed to their roles and without their extreme commitment to film and their roles, the film would not have seemed realistic, something critical for this film.

After being released, the film made a significant profit compared to its budget. The film was made for 13 million dollars and made 329 million dollars worldwide. The return of the film was 25 times what it cost to make; that is not bad for a film that was released as an awards contender. In the Academy Awards, the biggest awards ceremony for film, Black Swan was nominated for five categories: Best Direction, Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Actress. They came away with one win for Best Actress for Natalie Portman.

This film is one of the most well done films that were released in 2010. It is smart and the direction is flawless by Darren Aronofsky. It is a nice change of pace if you want to think about a film after and discuss about the meanings or certain items in the film with your fellow movie watchers. In my opinion, this film is a strong 5 stars out of 5 stars. Granted, this film is not for everyone because it does have its moments at times that include strong sexual content, disturbing violent images, language, and drug use which leads the MPAA rating of R.

My next movie review is Shawshank Redemption. Look for it within the next few days. Until next time readers.