The Perfectly Intense "Black Swan"

Last night, I went to a preview screening of Black Swan at LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) starring Natalie Portman as the prima ballerina who, in pursuit of being perfect, loses herself and ultimately becomes the black swan.  From the trailer, Mila Kunis is portrayed as the evil rival that's out to get her but in the movie it's Portman's character Nina that's her own worst enemy.  At a few points in the film, this psycho-thriller really tests your tolerance for gore and even had everyone in the audience expressing their anguish out loud.

There is so much buzz about the film being an Oscar contender and after seeing Portman's intense performance, I can see why. Director Darren Aronofsky, also known for his critically acclaimed 2008 film The Wrestler, conceived the idea for this film several years ago. Portman had long been slated for the film and once it began taking shape she trained for a full year with former New York City Ballet dancer Mary Hellen Bowers. Although Portman had ballet training from the age of 4 to about 13, when she first met with choreographer Benjamin Millepied he was concerned about her abilities. I myself had training as a child and don't think I could have pulled off those dance sequences, even after a year of training.  Apparently she did have a body double but according to an LA Times interview with the director, she did 90% of the scenes, which is pretty incredible.

One of the main reasons I wanted to see Black Swan was to finally see the ballet costumes designed by Rodarte.  Although photos of the costumes have been circulating everywhere, it was quite a treat to see them in action, twirling around the stage.  As a loyal Rodarte costumer, Portman introduced Kate and Laura Mulleavy to Aronofsky and from there a wonderful collaboration was created. In an interview by New York Magazine, the sisters said that their biggest challenge was making the tutus. Since they had never designed a ballet costume, let alone seen one up close, they had to start from scratch. Although it was their first time working with layers of tulle, the costumes were absolutely gorgeous and created a dark, romantic aesthetic which really made those intense ballet scenes come alive. During the film, I noticed all the intricate details and obvious hard work that went into each costume. They should be in a museum, maybe donated to LACMA's Costume and Textiles department perhaps? Swarovski also donated nearly 250,000 crystals, weighing 40kgs for the ballet costumes, which added some sparkle.

Black Swan comes out this Friday, December 3rd. If you're seeing it this weekend, get ready for an intense and amazing film.

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