Psychologically thrilling, Black Swan pulls you through its goosebump gauntlet, slowly at first, then accelerating at mad speed to the final scene and its climatic snap! The tale of a young ballerina at Lincoln Center chosen to portray the mentally and physically challenging role of Swan Queen in Stravinsky’s Swan Lake, it is told through beautiful dancing and tricks of the mind and camera. Darren Aronofsky (whom I recently met playing a kid’s birthday party) is a master web spinner and this one may be his best yet while Natalie Portman is unbelievably compelling with her desperately compulsive and complex character. The visual imagery is striking and the emotional tenor is intense, combining to make the viewing a highly stressful, yet wonderfully stimulating experience.
I know nothing about the Oscars, but this seems pretty unbeatable in a few categories…