...much of Madness, and more of Sin,
And Horror the soul of the plot - Poe, "The Conqueror Worm", 1843
With Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky has finally dived into the horror film after much toe-dipping in the genre with his previous films. Whether consciously or not he has looked back to the work of past masters of the game for help with this venture; Roman Polanski, David Cronenberg, Dario Argento. Most especially Dario Argento. Black Swan is astonishingly unoriginal and derivative, yet that it feels so fresh and compelling nonetheless is testament to the skill behind and before the camera.
The film concerns a rising ballerina whose desperation for success and perfection leads to insanity and horror. That is pretty much it. This film is not about plot. It is about style and mood, and here it delivers in copious wonderful quantities. The film looks great, even if some symbolism is presented rather heavy-handedly, and a creeping air of menace and confusion is successfully sustained through to the finale. There is nothing new to be seen, but the familiarity has been given one hell of a spit-shine.
The main area where Aronofsky leaves Argento in the dirt is in his handling of actors. Perfomances here are excellent. Vincent Cassel, Natalie Portman and, especially, Barbara Hershey command their rôles, and very able support comes from Mila Kunis and Winona Ryder. Aronofsky works this cast splendidly and never a false note is seen. The performers "get" the spirit of the film and fit within perfectly.
There are occasions where the stylised camerawork feels a little intrusive, but for the most part the film is expertly and appropriately photographed. Claustrophobic closeness and unnerving expanses of stage are danced between well, good editing further helping. The colour scheme is mostly black and white (as you would expect considering the "Swan Lake" setting) but dashes of colour (gaudy wallpaper, red lipstick, sudden blood) appear on top of this background. The film looks good.
Having praised the film, I do have to say I don't think it warranted the massive hype it garnered. It's a very good film, but it's no masterpiece. It is efficient and does its job, but it does not go further. Where, for example, to pick an obvious film of comparison, Powell and Pressburger took their tragic ballet story The Red Shoes and turned cinema on its head, stretching into magical imagery, Black Swan merely does its job. It does it well, but one feels it could have gone further.
So, a splendid film, and one I would recommend to anyone with the stomach and head for surreal madness. Could it have been more? I suppose we will never know. But at least we have a pretty damned good try. It would be nice if Aronofsky could create a similarly powerful film without relying so heavily upon that which has gone before. Influence is one thing, so is homage, Aronofsky gets dangerously close to "rip off". Sheer skill, verve and gall deflect this. He's one to watch for sure, I suspect he has more to give us.
