The magnificent "obsession" can be one of two things. It can be a thing of beauty, a gifted ballet dancer gracefully contorting their body to a harmonious pace. But it can also be a thing of darkness, a face of white like Bergman's vision of Death with red, piercing eyes included. Director Darren Aronofsky is no stranger to telling tales of obsession. In fact, most of his films deal with the dueling sides of that fiery driven coin. With Black Swan, his latest film, he once again delves into the mental state of one who is obsessed, and, once again, he creates a thing of visionary brilliance. Black Swan, slow burn though it may be in the former half, quickly transcends both its lead character and her story into a pulsating beast, something that envelops its audience, sucks the energy from them, and sends them out into the night begging for more. It could very well be Aronofsky's masterpiece. At the forefront of Black Swan is Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman). A member of a New York City ballet company, she finds herself in the lead role of the company's, more so the director's, new vision of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake." Incredibly gifted, Nina performs the role of the white swan with utter elegance. However, the role calls for two sides, the white swan as well as the villainous black swan. Nina, determined but unable to break the ideology of innocence that is instilled in her nature, strives to grab hold of the black swan role. The lengths that she goes and the breaking down of her world, both physical and mental, in order to perfect both roles leads to shocking results. Aronofsky has always been a director who gets into his characters' heads. He has always executed with perfect clarity the mental breakdowns involved in whatever obsession his leads find themselves locked to. Whether it's drugs with Requiem for a Dream or finding a stage to perform with The Wrestler or even a determination to overcome the death of a loved one
The magnificent "obsession" can be one of two things. It can be a thing of beauty, a gifted ballet dancer gracefully contorting their body to a harmonious pace. But it can also be a thing of darkness, a face of white like Bergman's vision of Death with red, piercing eyes included. Director Darren Aronofsky is no stranger to telling tales of obsession. In fact, most of his films deal with the dueling sides of that fiery driven coin. With Black Swan, his latest film, he once again delves into the mental state of one who is obsessed, and, once again, he creates a thing of visionary brilliance. Black Swan, slow burn though it may be in the former half, quickly transcends both its lead character and her story into a pulsating beast, something that envelops its audience, sucks the energy from them, and sends them out into the night begging for more. It could very well be Aronofsky's masterpiece. At the forefront of Black Swan is Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman). A member of a New York City ballet company, she finds herself in the lead role of the company's, more so the director's, new vision of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake." Incredibly gifted, Nina performs the role of the white swan with utter elegance. However, the role calls for two sides, the white swan as well as the villainous black swan. Nina, determined but unable to break the ideology of innocence that is instilled in her nature, strives to grab hold of the black swan role. The lengths that she goes and the breaking down of her world, both physical and mental, in order to perfect both roles leads to shocking results. Aronofsky has always been a director who gets into his characters' heads. He has always executed with perfect clarity the mental breakdowns involved in whatever obsession his leads find themselves locked to. Whether it's drugs with Requiem for a Dream or finding a stage to perform with The Wrestler or even a determination to overcome the death of a loved one