Black Swan! Wow!

Inevitably going to be compared to The Wrestler, but for good reason. A film that draws you into an almost mundane tale of obsession sets up a climax almost overloaded with emotion. Realisations about the character you've been following dawn almost too late and make you want to reach into the screen and tell them not to do what they're about to. We're diving off the turnbuckle again, but this time in a tutu.

Halfway through the film I was feeling cheated. All that hype around the film, coupled with my own high expectations of the director were stinging sharply as I began to tire of family-centric drama and bitchy backstage loner story. There were shocks, some increasing abstraction and a few flourishes that hark back to Pi or Requiem, but for the most part I was felt I'd been presented with another award-friendly character piece.

So by the end, the sheer transformation of the character (literally) was so well placed against the backdrop of an almost everyday story (reflected by the shift in location from grotty apartments and basic dressing rooms to the crowded and brightly lit stage) that it was almost overwhelming.

Natalie Portman can't go without mention here. She plays a character so delicate and frail at the start that following her through her mental deterioration is difficult, especially when Portman takes us through that transformation very gradually and reflects our own fear while she's at it.

In places, the film does sag a bit. The odd line of dialogue bumps clumsily against top performances and as already mentioned, it can leave you wondering where it's all going at points around the second act. However, fans of Aronofsky's previous films will be thrilled to find themselves following a familiar structure steadily increasing frenzy. All those key themes seem to be in place too with obesession firmly in charge yet again. Even the old drugs make a quick appearance, although regrettably without much stylish editing.

All in all, it is not the perfection the titular Black Swan seeks for herself, but still ruffles more than a few emotional feathers. It leaves an impact I suspect will still be felt for weeks after watching.

I wonder whether Aronofsky attacks each film with as much vehemence as his characters chase their own desires.