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Released by: Fox
Released on: 3/29/2011
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Cast: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Winona Ryder
Year: 2010
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The Movie:
Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan stars Natalie Portman as a ballet dancer named Nina Sayers who lands a part in the production of Swan Lake being directed by Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel). Initially part of the company, she winds up auditioning for the lead, though Thomas feels that if she's perfect for the part of the white swan, she's too restrained to play the part of the black swan and she is initially dismissed - until she proves to him how bad she wants the part. She succeeds in convincing him, much to the delight of her overbearing and overprotective mother, Erica (Barbara Hershey), though Thomas continues to encourage her to let go of her inhibitions, even requesting she go home and masturbate to loosen up and experience some passion.
The more she becomes obsessed with perfecting the role the more off kilter her world start to become and eventually what looks to be a friendship with fellow dancer Lily (Mila Kunis) turns into paranoia and Nina sees in herself a future not unlike that of Beth McIntyre (Winona Ryder), Thomas' last protégé now being ushered out of the spotlight. Nina's obsession soon becomes all encompassing.
Black Swan is an interesting movie. It's very effective in getting us into Nina's increasingly fragile psyche and Portman's performance is excellent. Not only does she look the part (she supposedly lost twenty pounds for the role and looks almost anorexic in this film) but she plays the role with a fragility that is entirely believable. We're given enough insight into her home life and her issues with her mother to be able to buy the concept and ideas that Aronofsky puts forth in the picture. So too are we given enough insight into the bitchy-catty world that is the professional ballet scene that Nina's obsession and strive for impossible perfection become, if not completely rational, at least understandable.
Black Swan, however, lacks anything even approaching subtlety. As he did with Requiem For A Dream, here Aronofsky basically telegraphs where the film is going very early on and while this doesn't take away from what he and his cast and crew have accomplished here, it does hamper moments in the film that should have been more suspenseful than they were. Instead of being shocked, we find ourselves saying 'I knew that would happen.' Metaphors and symbolism are plentiful in the film (pay attention to how many times there's a mirror in the shot) and help establish where it's all going but at times it feels like a little much. Where the film excels is in the quieter, uncomfortable moments. Aronofsky is, though clever cinematography and the setting of the film's tone, able to make something as mundane as a character clipping her nails seem completely abnormal and even frightening. Quirks and mannerisms that shouldn't amount to much, such as Nina's tendency to scratch herself, quickly become unsettling and uncomfortable and are made all the worse by the nattering of her mother, played pretty much perfectly by Barbara Hershey. The pushing and pushing of Nina's director, rightfully played with all the pompous self importance you could want by Vincent Cassel, and the relationship between her friend and main competitor Lily (her opposite on so many levels and in many ways the person she aspires to be), again well played by Kunis, just serve as further catalysts for her breakdown.
The use of music in the film is, as you would hope, superb. The sound design created for the film, much of which revolves around variations on Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, does a great job of heightening tension and pulling an emotional investment out of the viewer. The film also has an interesting look to it as it was shot using a mix of handheld Canon DSLR cameras and 16mm film - this lets Aronofsky change the texture of his film as the story calls for it and it's used to good effect here. So while the story might be a predictable one and its conclusion inevitable to a fault, the film more than makes up for it with uniformly excellent performances and some impressive production values. By borrowing from Cronenberg and Polanski and filtering it through his own skewed vision, Aronofsky has crafted a very well made film. Perfect? No, but impressive nevertheless.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Fox presents Black Swan on Blu-ray in a gorgeous AVC encoded 2.40.1 widescreen 1080p high definition transfer that presents the films visuals, shot on 16mm and a few different HD formats, in very nice quality. Given the way that the source material was constructed it's understandable that there are some rather noticeable variations depending on what format is up there on the screen at any given time, but the resulting Blu-ray is very strong. There is some noticeable noise in some of the darker scenes, likely a product of the cameras used, but generally detail is very strong and the disc is very well encoded. Those who want their HD transfers to be smeared of any and all grain will probably not like the way the 16mm footage appears here but it really helps to set the tone and is in keeping with the feel of the story. Color reproduction is pretty strong and plenty lifelike and despite the aforementioned noise the black levels are generally nice and deep. There are no problems with compression, edge enhancement or noise reduction. Skin looks good, nice and natural, and texture and fine detail are generally good as well. Black Swan is an odd looking film, but this Blu-ray release replicates that odd look incredibly well.
Audio options are offered up in English language DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and in French and Spanish language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound with optional subtitles provided in English SDH and Spanish.
The quality of the DTS-HD mix is impressive. The rear channels are not only frequently but very effectively to pull us into the storyline and the end result is an active and periodically aggressive sound mix that not only impresses from a technical level but which really helps with tone and atmosphere. Dialogue is always perfectly audible and the levels well balanced with just enough punch to the bassy lower end to hit when and where the movie calls for it. The most impressive aspect of the sound design, however, has to be the way in which Clint Mansell's score is toyed with. Surround channels are used to provide some really immersive directionality in this regard and the score becomes both sweeping and emotionally involving.
Extra features on this disc are good, but the lack of a commentary might irk some. The biggest and best of the supplements on the disc is the forty-nine minute featurette Black Swan Metamorphosis. Here we get a whole whack of on-set footage showing how the movie was shot in rather non-traditional ways alongside interviews with most of the cast and crew members.
From there, Fox has assembled a bunch of shorter featurettes, each one focusing in on a more specific aspect of the production. Ballet (2:33) is a quick interview with Portman and Aronofsky about ballet in the picture and how it relates to Portman's character, Production Design (4:00) is a look at Therese Perez's design work and how it reflects the tone of the story, Profile: Natalie Portman (3:16) is an interview with the actress where she discusses the lengthy amount of time it took to prepare for this role and how she feels about her character, Profile: Darren Aronofsky (2:48) is a quick interview the director talks about the influences on this story and about the shooting style he used. Conversation: Preparing For The Role (3:53) is an interview with Portman and Aronofsky about how he wanted her to approach and perform while Conversation: Dancing With The Camera (1:35) is more of the same with a focus on the challenges involved in shooting the film's dance scenes.
A bunch of Fox Movie Channel extras are also included, starting with In Character With Winona Ryder (2:17) where the celebrity shoplifter talks about her performance. In Character With Barbara Hershey (3:37), and In Character With Vincent Cassel (4:43) follow suit. Direct Effect: Darren Aronofsky (6:23) is another interview with the director in which he discusses the themes and storylines that the film explores before discussing what he feels makes a successful director.
Rounding out the extras on the disc are the film's theatrical trailer, trailers for a few other Fox properties, some Blu-ray Live connectivity, Pocket Blu Smartphone connectivity, animated motion menus and chapter stops. A second disc included in the case contains a digital copy of the film.
The Final Word:
Black Swan is fairly gripping stuff, if heavy handed and about as subtle as a brick. Portman's performance is excellent and the supporting cast is all just as strong and the film has got style and atmosphere to spare. Fox's Blu-ray release is pretty impressive and while the omission of a commentary is odd, the quality of the disc is otherwise excellent.
Click on the images below for full size Blu-ray screen caps!
