Black Swan

Synopsis: A psychological thriller set in the world of New York City ballet, BLACK SWAN stars Natalie Portman as Nina, a featured dancer who finds herself locked in a web of competitive intrigue with a new rival at the company (Mila Kunis). A Fox Searchlight Pictures release by visionary director Darren Aronofsky (THE WRESTLER), BLACK SWAN takes a thrilling and at times terrifying journey through the psyche of a young ballerina whose starring role as the duplicitous swan queen turns out to be a part for which she becomes frighteningly perfect. (C) Official Site 

Critical Acclaim: 

To induce a state of dread and mesmerize with beauty is a rare, paradoxical achievement.

Claudia Puig, USA TODAY 

Full Review: http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2010-12-03-blackswan03_ST_N.htm .

This is, no doubt about it, a tour de force, a work that fully lives up to its director's ambitions.

David Edelstein, New York Magazine 

Full Review: http://nymag.com/movies/reviews/69780/ 

A wicked, sexy and ultimately devastating study of a young dancer's all-consuming ambition, Black Swan serves as a fascinating complement to Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler," trading the grungy world of a broken-down fighter for the more upscale but no less brutal sphere of professional ballet. 

Peter Debruge, Variety 

Full Review: http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117943400?refcatid=31

A near-masterpiece of a film set in the hothouse world of New York ballet.

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
Full Review: http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/black-swan,1169493/critic-review.html

Portman's portrait of an artist under siege is unmissable and unforgettable. So is the movie. You won't know what hit you.

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Full Review: http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/black-swan-20101202

Lurid and voluptuous pulp fun, with a sensationalistic fairy-tale allure. You can't take it too seriously, but you can't tear your eyes away from it, either.

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly 

Full Review: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20446266,00.html

A near-irresistible exercise in bravura absurdity, Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan deserves to become a minor classic of heterosexual camp-at the very least, it's the most risible and riotous backstage movie since "Showgirls.

J. Hoberman, Village Voice

Full Review: http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-12-01/film/natalie-portman-goes-batshit-in-a-tutu-in-black-swan/

Audaciously whacked-out and never less than entertaining, Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan mixes a backstage dance drama with a Freudian psychological thriller that's indebted to Roman Polanski's studies of shattered feminine psyches and David Cronenberg's movies about repressed bodies in rebellion

Liam Lacey, The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

Full Review: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/tiff/todays-movies/james-franco-james-caan-and-much-more/article1712493/page2/

Aronofsky blurs the line between reality and fantasy, turning the film into a gothic horror show that is fascinating and disappointing in equal measure. What's resplendently real, though, is the beauty of Ms. Portman's performance. She makes the whole lurid tale worthwhile

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

Full Review: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704594804575648932101678038.html

Black Swan' Leads Critics' Choice With Record 12 Nominations

BROADCAST FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION CRITICS' CHOICE MOVIE AWARDS 
Nominations announced: Dec. 13th
Ceremony: Jan. 14th

Best Picture
Best Actress, Natalie Portman
Best Supporting Actress, Mila Kunis
Best Director, Darren Aronofsky
Best Original Screenplay, Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz and John McLaughlin
Best Cinematography, Matthew Libatique
Best Art Direction, Therese DePrez and Tora Peterson
Best Editing, Andrew Weisblum
Best Costume Design, Amy Wescott
Best Makeup
Best Sound
Best Score, Clint Mansell

Golden Globes: 4 nominations for 'Black Swan,' including best actress for Natalie Portman, best supporting actress for Mila Kunis 

GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS
Nominations announced: Dec. 14th
Ceremony: Jan. 16th

Best Motion Picture, Drama
Best Actress, Natalie Portman
Best Supporting Actress, Mila Kunis 
Best Director, Darren Aronofsky

SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS
Nominations announced: Dec. 16th
Ceremony: Jan. 30th

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, Natalie Portman
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, Mila Kunis

DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA AWARD
Nominations announced: Jan 10th
Ceremony: Jan 29th
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan

If you love film you must see this movie, Portman's performance is simply amazing and should not be missed. It is films like this that remind me why art is critical to living a full life.  The film also reminded me that I missed going to the ballet. I have been fortunate enough in my life to see Nureyev, Baryshnikov, and Fonteyn, as well as the Bolshoi Ballet Company.  I need to start going again.