Review 2

Black Swan(2010)

Director - Darren Aronofsky

Producer - Ari Handel, Scott Franklin, Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer, Brian Oliver

Screenwriters - Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, John McLaughlin

Composer - Clint Mansell
Genre - Drama / Thriller
Release Year - 2010
Country - US
Run Time - 180 minutes
MPAA Rating - R

Lead actors

Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers/The Swan Queen
Mila Kunis as Lily/The Black Swan
Vincent Cassel as Thomas Leroy/The Gentleman
Barbara Hershey as Erica Sayers/The Queen
Winona Ryder as Beth MacIntyre/The Dying Swan
Benjamin Millepied as David Moreau/The Prince
Ksenia Solo as Veronica/Little Swan
Kristina Anapau as Galina/Little Swan
Janet Montgomery as Madeline/Little Swan
Sebastian Stan as Andrew/Suitor
Toby Hemingway as Tom/Suitor

Plot

Black Swan follows the story of Nina, a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, was completely consumed with dance. She lived with her mother Erica, a retired ballerina, who zealously supported her daughter's professional ambition. When artistic director Thomas Leroy  decided to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina was his first choice. But Nina had competition: a new dancer- Lily, who impresseed Leroy as well. Swan Lake requireed a dancer who could play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represented guile and sensuality. Nina fitted the White Swan role perfectly but Lily was the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expanded their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina began to get more in touch with her dark side with a recklessness that threatened to destroy her.

Direction

I saw first work of Darren Aronofsky watching Requiem for a Dream(2000). The film depicts different forms of addiction, leading to the characters’ imprisonment in a world of delusion and reckless desperation that is subsequently overtaken by reality. After I began to associated this director with a quality films, about hard stages and sides of people's life. And his next work I was really impressed by was The Wrestler (2008) starring Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei. This tender, gripping and altogether remarkable film instantly takes its place among the great, iconic screen performances. And I think it's a result of a huge role of Darren Aronofsky as a director and producer. In Black Swan we can see an outstanding talent of the man. Darren Aronofsky first became interested in ballet when his sister studied dance at the High School of Performing Arts in New York City. The basic idea for the film started when he hired screenwriters to rework a screenplay called The Understudy, which was about off-Broadway actors and explored the notion of being haunted by a double. Aronofsky said the screenplay had elements of All About Eve, Roman Polanski's The Tenant, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novella The Double. The director had also seen numerous productions of Swan Lake, and he connected the duality of the White Swan and the Black Swan to the script. When researching for the production of Black Swan, Aronofsky found ballet to be "a very insular world" whose dancers were "not impressed by movies". Regardless, the director found active and inactive dancers to share their experiences with him. He also stood backstage to see the Bolshoi Ballet perform at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

Costume Design

Nominated for Best Costume Design for the 2011 Critics' Choice Movie Awards, Kate and Laura Mulleavy designed the costumes for both the Swan Lake ballet in Black Swan, as well as other pieces worn by Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis in the film. The Rodarte credit for the film reads Ballet Costumes Designed by Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte as they designed the Swan Lake ballet within the film and key costumes worn by Natalie Portman, including her white gown, white scarf, and grey practice tutu.

Background Music

Clint Mansell, a musician and composer, deserves the seperate words. He wrote the score for most Aronofsky's films including Black Swan. Clint Mansell and Darren Aronofsky is a perfect duet, the composer could convey the soul of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet.

About the movie Black Swan, I'm sure, many people have heard . This film was at the hearing in 2010. It is such picture that attracts us with its beauty, elegance, even a danger and temptation. The picture can scare away truthfulness and mysticism. BUT nevertheless you can't break away even for a second during watching it! “Still waters run deep", in my opinion, is perfect slogan for Black Swan. The plot of the film is amazing, after all, we are shown a consequence of one of the great desires of a man - opening of his second opposite side. The heroine was looking for her "alter ego" - Nina tried to stand in a new way, but she went too far in the attempts. The symbol of this evil "alter ego" was another ballerina - Lily, a demon, rival. She didn't just attend at the life of Nina, as an antipode, moreover she gradually survived the young woman out of her own consciousness. I can say that you begin to go crazy with Nina by the end of the film. Well, the movie keeps in suspense not worse than any other thriller, keeps to look for the edge between reality and madness, passion and lust, modesty and ambition, love and detestation, friendship and competition. What Natalie Portman did with her role  - this is something impossible. She played Nina Sayers fabulously. So,it is very difficult to describe, you need to see Black Swan!