Twelve Favorites of the Year

Black Swan and the Emergence of Our Dark Side

Black Swan is a very dark tale. The film dabbles in horror, psychological madness, dramatic, and bleak atmospheric themes. This movie couldn’t have been handled by a better director. Darren Aronofsky, who directed Requiem for a Dream and The Wrestler, has crafted a masterpiece fronted by an amazing, and I mean AMAZING performance by Natalie Portman. She is a fine actress ranging from sweet films like Where the Heart Is to indie flair like Garden State to epics like Star Wars and action-adventures like V for Vendetta. Even though she has been around for a while, I think this film has finally broken her through.

The story centers on Nina, a struggling ballerina in New York, who is trying to win the role of the swan queen in Swan Lake, a classic ballet show. The innocence behind Nina’s eyes is something that reminds us of a child – untouched and fragile. When she wins the part, she is triumphant with the role of the White Swan. However, the swan queen is split down the middle and has to conquer the role of the Black Swan – the evil twin. This is where the story takes a bizarre turn.

The rest of the cast is strong with great performances from Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, Vincent Cassel, and Winona Ryder. The one who steals the spotlight from the supporting cast is Mila Kunis. Her sexy, humorous character is the antithesis of Portman’s character. When the two are on screen together you can’t decide who to side with which makes the movie all the more fun. The film doesn’t end up the way you think it would. There are fun surprises and some startling imagery. This is one of the few films that kept me on edge throughout the entire runtime. You’re left with thinking if you have suppressed your alter ego, your “evil twin inside” if you will.

Which gets me to the second half of the blog – do we all have a dark side? In a metaphoric sense, I believe that we are all still little children. We still pout if things don’t go our way. When we were younger, we would complain to our mothers if there was something you didn’t like going on, now it’s your friends we run to. It’s all relative. So, with that being said – I’d like to believe that we still carry these feelings with us. It’s all about maturity and what level you are with your maturity. Even the most mature can still show displeasure, even from deep within.

I think our dark side correlates with the seven deadly sins. Wrath, gluttony, sloth, greed, envy, vanity, and lust. The two biggest ones being lust and envy. What I’ve seen with people lately is definitely lust. Everything being about sex, sex, and more sex. But who would ever admit this? And I’m guilty of this too. Sex is fun and wild and crazy. But sex can be very dangerous, mentally. I think this is where our dark side escapes – for me, anyway. It’s where you are at your most private. But then again, that depends on the person. Our “evil twin” can be very angry, hungry, lazy, greedy, jealous, superficial, or just a whore. Remember, this is just my point of view – but then again, ask yourself – where do I liberate my “black swan”? And how?

The Feeling of a Summer Day