Natalie Portman is utterly magnificent in her portrayal of Nina Sayers in Black Swan. Hello once again, I’m Alex Ortiz bringing you, this time, a special edition of my Movie Buzz Reviews. Since it’s awards season I will be reviewing the most buzzed about movie awards wise and will tell you the likely-hood of them winning the top prize(Oscar, Golden Globes, etc.) and what they will win and might win. First up, obviously, is Black Swan, the story of a young ballet dancer who gets chosen to play the Swan Queen in the stage production of Swan Lake. She immediately sees competition coming her way through Lily played by the equally impressive Mila Kunis. She quickly becomes overwhelmed with all the physical and mental demands of portraying both the White Swan and the Black Swan. As the movie progresses we, as well as Nina, see the revelation of her inner demons. These “demons” take hold of Nina and this is where the movie begins to shine. We begin to feel sympathy for Nina as well as hatred as well as confusion. We begin to wonder why the character is the character and Natalie Portman pulled it off so effortlessly. Although you already notice the complexity of the character from the start of the movie, which makes it slightly predictable, we still see her evolve as a character. This movie clearly shows evolution, as we also see Nina’s relationships evolve with her rival/friend, mother, and her artistic director, which is, to say the least, complicated. Although Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis play the tension filled, difficult, friend/enemy rivalry so superbly, I commend Barbara Hershey and Vince Cassel as their extremely credible and eerily portrayals of Nina’s perfectionist mother and her demanding artistic director, Thomas. This well-rounded cast of character really bring the movie to life and Darren Aronofsky’s unique style of directing gives this movie it’s true beauty. Although there are some unnecessary, Hollywood style visual effects, to emphasize the symbolism(eg. Her growing black feathers) it still maintains it’s beauty and intrigue. There are some points in the movie where you expect what’s going to happen yet there are equally points in the movie where it completely catches you off guard. This movie must not be missed, from the opening sequence to the bitter-sweet ending, Black Swan kept my interest with it’s beauty, exoticism, and intrigue.
BEST PICTURE WINNING ODDS
Moderate
The competition is very heavy in this year’s award season and Black Swan is one of those movies that stand out and has a chance at taking home the gold.
WHAT IT WILL WIN
Best Actress-Natalie Portman
Best Art Direction
Best Makeup
WHAT IT MIGHT WIN
Best Supporting Actress-Mila Kunis
Best Screenplay
Best Cinematography
The writing of this movie is one of the most unique stories ever told as well as the execution of supporting characters and the way it is filmed is also one that award’s voters might give way to.
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