13 Nights of Shocktober: Black Swan

by A.J.

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and, October becomes the month long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. There are a lot of horror movies out there, but as a genre, horror is still looked down upon by some mainstream critics and moviegoers. It doesn’t help that, admittedly, there are so few quality horror movies made but, like comedy, it’s a very difficult and subjective genre. So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some recommendations for scary movies to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 9: "I just want to be perfect" Black Swan

The epilogue of Jason Zinoman’s book Shock Value: How a Few Eccentric Outsiders Gave Us Nightmares, Conquered Hollywood, and Invented Modern Horror, contains an interview with William Friedkin, the director of The Exorcist, in which Friedkin, even more than 30 years after the movie was made, will not call The Exorcist horror. He cites the 10 Academy Award nominations it received as proof. No one considers JAWS to be a horror movie, but no one will deny that it is one of the most frightening movies ever made. The Silence of the Lambs won the Academy Award for best picture and its plot is the stuff of horror movies. Any hint of prestige makes people drop the word “horror” and start using the word “thriller.”

Black Swan was nominated for 5 Academy Awards including best director for Darren Aronofsky and won for Natalie Portman for best actress. It is listed on IMDB.com as a drama/mystery/thriller, but I would only recommend it if you want to be unnerved by a film that is beautifully disturbing. Natalie Portman stars as Nina, a ballerina on the verge of stardom and madness as she prepares for the dual role of the Black and White Swan for a new production of Swan Lake.

Black Swan is shot in a handheld, stripped down style reminiscent of horror movies from the 1970’s like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Last House on the Left. Its semi documentary look contrasts Nina’s frightening visions and makes them more unsettling since this film takes place in a non-fantastic world. Blurring the lines between the real and unreal, the rational and the absurd, seems to be a hallmark of the great horror movies according to Zinoman’s book. Black Swan is no exception. There is nothing surreal or dreamlike about the scene in which Nina painfully pulls a feather from her flesh.

I’ve written about Black Swan before in a previous review so I will stop here to keep from repeating myself. The only thing I’ll add is that in 2010 Black Swan was near the top of my “best of” list, and I’ve only come to like it more since then.

That Way Madness Lies... Black Swan

"True! --nervous --very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses --not destroyed --not dulled them... I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad?" That opening passage from Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart would also be an apt prologue for Darren Aronofsky's fifth film, Black Swan. It tells the tale of Nina, the new and unproven prima ballerina of a New York CIty Ballet company and her pursuit for perfection.

When Thomas, the Ballet's director, played with a stern fierceness by Vincent Cassel, says of his choice for their next production, Swan Lake, that it's been done to death, he could be talking about the plot of Black Swan. It's a story we all know: a young rising star tries to deal with the pressure her new role puts on her, a demanding director, and rivals within the company. But, Thomas goes on to say, we haven't seen it like this: stripped down, visceral. That also applies to Black Swan particularly in its visual style which resembles Aronofsky's 2008 film, The Wrestler. The similarities don't end there. Aside from the stripped down visual style, both Black Swan and The Wrestler take a visceral, hard edged look at the backstage world of stage performers. Both movies are also character pieces about people so devoted to their chosen profession that it borders on obsession.

The centerpiece of the film is Natalie Portman's performance as Nina, the young ballerina recently made the star of her company. "I just want to be perfect," Nina says early in the film. Her technique, her innocence, make her perfect for the part of the White Swan, but her director thinks she lacks the passion to tackle the more difficult role of the Black Swan. Nina is a young woman seemingly kept in girlhood by her domineering mother. Lily, played quite well by Mila Kunis, is the new dancer in the company and may be Nina's new friend and, possibly, her rival. She embodies the confidence and sexuality Nina lacks.

An entire decade ago there was a film called Center Stage that made itself up to be the behind the curtain drama of what really goes on in the lives of young dancers but don't be fooled, it's all glossed over pettiness. I don't doubt there is some pettiness in the world of ballet but that film fails on any substantial level. With Black Swan we get to see the physical punishment these girls put their bodies through for their art and we see at least Nina's psychological punishment. She slips into paranoid fantasy and we, the audience, are just as unsure about what's happening as she is.

This movie isn't about seeing Nina break down because of stress and anxiety. She descends into madness because down that path lies what she most desires: perfection. She doesn't "lose it" because of her role, she "loses it" for her role; to achieve the ultimate performance of her career.

I've pointed out some of the similarities this film has with The Wrestler, but it's also like Aronofsky's The Fountain in its objective showcase of a metaphysical, cerebral journey and obsession of a character that has no singular explanation. There is no scene in either movie where things are spelled out for us. Though Black Swan is not nearly as open-ended.

Whatever accolades Portman has earned, or will earn, have come very deservedly. She gives an incredible performance; little of which has to do with the actual ballet training she did. She captures the naive, fragile side of Nina; the terror, fear, and paranoia of a ballet star; and the budding rebellion and passion of the Black Swan. I was fortunate enough to see Black Swan at the Austin Film Festival where it was well received by thunderous applause and a standing ovation. I didn't stand but I did applaud thunderously. I really enjoyed it, but I wasn't sure how this movie would hold up on a second viewing. I saw it again a couple of weeks ago and I can't wait to see it again. Black Swan is filled with surreal, haunting imagery. It's beautiful in an almost disturbing way. It's definitely not for everyone but you should be able to tell that from the poster and the trailers. But I'm telling everyone I know to watch it for the almost gritty backstage look at a ballet production, the wonderful dancing, and for Natalie Portman's stellar, "all-in" performance.