Black Swan at Wahnfried

At Wahnfried
On Friday 12th at 5pm we have the psychological thriller drama film BLACK SWAN (1h40mins).

Nina (Portman) is a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her obsessive former ballerina mother Erica (Hershey) who exerts a suffocating control over her. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side - a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.

Black Swan received widespread critical acclaim upon release, with particular praise toward Aronofsky's direction and the performances of Portman and Kunis. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 85%. The website's critical consensus reads, "Bracingly intense, passionate, and wildly melodramatic, Black Swan glides on Darren Aronofsky's bold direction—and a bravura performance from Natalie Portman.

‘’Black Swan is an erotic psychological thriller, portraying the main character Nina (Natalie Portman in her Oscar-winning performance) as the mentally fragile ballerina, who has just been cast as the Swan Queen in a New York City ballet company's production of Swan Lake. The film is all about Nina's desperate attempts to achieve artistic perfection in her new-found dream role, which consumes her and begins to disintegrate her sanity. He film's intense psychological nature won't be to everyone's taste, and it really does get more and more disturbing the more you watch, as you are delving into the psyche of a someone whose mind is unravelling by the minute. Darren Aronofsky's direction is bold and Portman's performance is the finest of her already-impressive career, and the final 30-40 minutes is nothing short of wild. Black Swan gets under your skin, but it is thrilling from start to finish, and I cannot recommend it enough.’’ Amazon.co.uk reviewer