Portman deserves Oscar for performance in 'Black Swan'

Cert: 16

Think 'The Red Shoes' and you get the gist of this gripping, disturbing, dark and brilliantly executed psychological thriller set in the obsessive world of ballet … and think Oscar while you watch Portman give the outstanding performance of her career.

This often harrowing tale of a journey into horror and disintegration is, in many ways, like the swans who glide gracefully across the lake while under the water there is frantic turmoil.

Portman plays up-and-coming dancer Nina Sayers who is on the verge of her big breakthrough when presented with the chance of dancing the White Swan in a New York City company’s Swan Lake, but she is on the verge of a headlong fall into insanity, driven by the pressure and by her controlling mother, Erica (a great, awful, Hershey), and by the dubious friendship of Lily (Kunis) who is cast as the evil Black Swan.

Of course ballet, like all art forms, makes often impossible demands, and if at times director Aronofsky pushes his film towards melodrama, perhaps even farce, all can be forgiven since there are so many formidable performances, not the least that from the wonderful Portman.

Star Rating: 4/5