Black Swan opens with a dainty ballerina gracefully dancing en pointe on a stark spotlit stage. The mesmerizing ballet dancer is soon joined with a male dancer who abruptly morphs into a demon and entwines her, becoming a whirlwind of unstoppable vigorous energy.

The short breathtaking sequence sums up the whole of the enthralling ride that is Black Swan.

Directed by Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, Requiem for a Dream), the US$13 million dollar psychological thriller had been swirling around in the acclaimed director’s head for almost a decade, even while he was editing 2000’s critical darling, Requiem for a Dream.

Ten years later, infused with Aronofsky’s avante-garde intense filming style and headlined by stars like Natalie Portman, Black Swan is one of the best films of the year so far.

Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) is a promising ballerina in an unnamed New York ballet company, competing for the coveted role of Swan Queen in the company’s new production, Swan Lake. Swan Lake is a simple and classic enough play, but the lead has the onerous task of being able to dance both parts of the wildly different White and Black Swan.

Nina is perfect for the part of the White Swan, but finds that she lacks the dark passion of the Black Swan. Meanwhile, she strikes up a dangerous love-hate relationship with newcomer rival Lily (Mila Kunis), who fits the part of the Black Swan perfectly.

Nina starts to lose her mind as she tries to balance playing the role of the delicate and fragile White Swan, while struggling to portray the raw passion and exuberance of the sensual Black Swan.

Ultimately, Black Swan is not a typical popcorn flick that you’ll forget after the theatre lights come up. It’s a haunting, dark masterpiece by Aronofsky that’s made even more raw and realistic by filming closely from Nina’s perspective.

Portman shines the brightest as Nina, with her debauched side bubbling up beneath her chaste exterior. Her co-stars are no slouch either. French actor Vincent Cassel and Mila Kunis both give an intense performance, with the former as the passionate manager, and the latter her usual smoldering unrestrained self.

Kunis and Portman’s commitment to the film are clear with both of them learning ballet intensively months before filming began, with the latter even losing 9 kilograms to look more like a ballerina.

The plot moves along on a zipping pace, with not too many surprises, even though one or two of the plot twists was pretty predictable at times.

At times, Black Swan dives headlong into visceral horror, providing disturbing and horrifying scenes that will make viewers flinch like a scene of Nina plucking a feather out of her skin and her legs cracking in half like a swan.

The haunting soundtrack composed by Aronofsky and English composer Clint Mansell was another highlight, giving an otherworldly feel to the film. The fifth collaboration between the duo, the music was based on Tchaikovsky’s original Swan Lake ballet, but changed radically for the film.

Detractors will find a lot to love (or hate) here, with Black Swan being part psychological-thriller, part art-house flick. The usual artsy sub-tones are all running underneath here, the pure White Swan turning into the sensual Black Swan mirroring Nina’s slow descent into darkness, as well as symbolizing a virginal young girl growing into her sexuality.

Ignoring all these underlying meanings does nothing to detract from the masterpiece of Black Swan, with Portman’s tremendous performance garnering her a Golden Globe award already.

As Nina whispers in the final scene of Black Swan, echoing my thoughts.

Perfect. I was perfect.

Movie: Black Swan
Rating: ★★★★★

Opens: 10 Feb
Duration: 108 min
Language: English
Age Rating: M18 (Sexual References)
Genre: Drama, Thriller

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Cast: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel