Neal Vitale Reviews: Black Swan
January 03, 2011
4 stars out of 5
Black Swan is a nervy and electric snapshot of the competitive world of professional ballet. Natalie Portman (The Other Boleyn Girl, Star Wars: Episode III) is the newly-chosen lead for a Lincoln Center production of "Swan Lake," and Black Swan delves into her myriad psychological struggles around self worth, adequacy, control, love, and sexuality. The film is creepy, but intensely powerful, in large part thanks to director Darren Aronofsky's (The Wrestler, Pi) over-the-top, super-caffeinated style. Portman is this year's odds-on Oscar winner as Best Actress, for a role in which she is physically transformed in many ways.