By Mark HadleyTuesday 18 Jan 2011MoviesReading Time: 2 minutes
Black Swan
Rating: MA 15+
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: January 20
Black Swan is a film full of warnings audiences could benefit from hearing, but its content is so visceral and provoking that it deserves a stronger caution than its MA 15+ rating provides.
Natalie Portman stars as a New York ballerina obsessed with the pursuit of perfection. Her drive has led her to forsake almost every form of solace for a woman her age. Her life has been whittled down to the stage and the small apartment she shares with her obsessive mother. When she is cast as the Swan Queen in a new production of Swan Lake, Nina must perform not only the pristine character of the White Swan, but the dark, alluring persona of the Black Swan. Her attempts to do so chronicle a descent into madness and self-destruction.
Black Swan’s plot perfectly tracks the story of the ballet. A woman who has been transformed into a white swan can only be freed from the spell by love’s kiss. However the prince who is on the verge of setting her free is seduced by a black swan, and the heroine falls into despair and death. It is a psychological thriller that warns against the pursuit of perfection with every close-up of the painful pirouettes its company performs. Director Darren Aronofsky seems to warn that human beings should be wary of attempting the flawless performance Nina aspires to. Spiritually speaking it’s a point of view Christians can support. Our strength is insufficient to lift us to such heady heights and attempting to do so will only see us dashed to pieces.
However powerful the story though, however important the message, Black Swan is a film I can only warn against rather than recommend. The storyline is so engaging, the topic so attractive to young girls that movie goers might not be prepared for other material that has been bundled into the film. This is one of those cases where the rating seems manifestly out of line with the film’s content. The sexual content of the film is far more than is required to convey Nina’s confusion over her identity. It may not show much in the way of skin but it is explicit nonetheless and will prove extremely uncomfortable for family audiences. This is not a film for 15+ teenagers; I would not recommend it to married men. It should be viewed with extreme caution, if at all.