If you are a fan of Inception, mind trips, and movies with shocking endings, then the movie Black Swan, starring Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman, is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat, wanting more. The dark, twisted, mind-blowing psychological ballet thriller will leave you speechless with every scene that passes by.

Black Swan is the story of a girl who longs for perfection, and will do literally anything to achieve it. She puts herself through hours of torture and practice to get every single dance move right. The film goes as far as showing the audience her problems with self mutilation (caution: blood) in her fight to become what is, in her mind, a “perfect” ballet dancer. She is a martyr to her work. Although she is near perfect in execution, she struggles to find the one thing that will bring her to top.

Natalie Portman’s character, Nina, is competing for the role of the Swan Queen in a New York ballet company’s production of “Swan Lake.” The role requires the playing of two parts- the pure and beautiful white swan, and the dark, seductive black swan. The director of Swan Lake sees her as a magnificent White Swan, but feels she is too innocent and virginal to play the part of the Black Swan. She must go against Mila Kunis’s character, Lily, a talented dancer whose grace seems to come naturally to her. What Nina doesn’t realize, however, is that her biggest enemy is herself. She struggles to both find herself, and destroy what is destroying her.

Throughout the movie, you can see the gradual decline of sanity in Nina as she becomes paranoid that Lily will take her precious role. She becomes mentally unstable, breaks down, and loses her mind to her role. Her insanity drives her to do crazy things. This movie expertly captures the images of the pressure put on today’s performers. The pressure put on Nina by her critical, and slightly delusional mother, leads her to overworking herself and never seeing herself as good enough. The film shows the brutal physical pain involved in dancing, such as the strained muscles, bloody feet, and worn out bodies of the dancers. This movie does an excellent job of showing the progression of sacrifices that she has made for her art to portray the typical artist struggle.
The ending of this movie is unpredictable and unexpected, so prepare to be surprised. It will leave you wondering what was reality, and what was not. It will leave you questioning the sanity of every character, and maybe even of yourself.