Black Swan is about Natalie Portman as a world class ballerina who slowly descends into madness. She is receiving pressure from her troupe as she has taken on the coveted roll of the Black Swan in Swan Lake. A rival might be seducing her and her artistic director is putting the moves on her as well. Paintings start to move on their own, strange protrusions erupt from her skin and generally, things get weird as Nina starts to lose her grip on reality.
This isn't horror in the sense that you get a lot of cheap jump scares or monsters chasing people down dusty hallways. This is all about the horrors the mind can produce as you let the pressure in. Aronofsky is one of my favorite directors and this movie only gets remembered for the lesbian sex scene between Portman and Mila Kunis. However, it deserves to be remembered for the subtle visual freak outs and the soundtrack that contribute so well to the feeling of disorientation. Plus, I just love Portman and really think this is one of her strongest performances.
Coupled with The Wrestler, these are Aronofsky's movies about the punishment professional entertainers can endure. As a standalone, this is all about the tempting allure of madness.
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