Kicking off my first theatrical viewing of the new year is 2010's Black Swan.  Dark Horizons accurately describes it as "a frantic gulp of poison" -- a fast, hard hitting psychological horror thriller that provides an unflinching look at the deterioration of the human condition.  The elegant world of ballet has a dark underbelly, and it's filled with bloodsport-like competition, harrowing paranoia, tummy-turning self mutilation, and raw sexual desires.

I haven't seen it myself, but it's been said that Black Swan most resembles Roman Polanski's "Repulsion".  Both movies deal with young women who undergo an unraveling reality, which consummates into outright delirium.  It's easy to get caught up in the unsettling narrative, as the viewer's perspective is that of the lead character's.  As such, we're left to decide what is real and what is not through the eyes of the film's protagonist Nina Sayers.  To speak of anything more would be giving it away, but the ever alternating shifts between hallucinations and reality make for a highly textured, suspenseful, and fascinating watch.

As Darren Aronofsky has stated, Black Swan is very much a companion piece to his previous film "The Wrestler".  They're both terrific character studies, focusing on the the demanding tolls these performing arts take on the body and mind, and the costly lengths people will go to strive in them.  The entire cast is excellent, but Portman is truly fantastic in her role as the graceful but psychosis-riddled Nina.  Her gradual metamorphosis from the figuratively sweet white swan to the titular black is stunning, and it builds up into what is undoubtedly one of the most symbolically-moving cinematic finales I've ever witnessed.  All this to a dark, dissonant but lyrically beautiful score that Clint Mansell has put together using Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake as its musical foundation.

Ah, Repulsion. A customer and close friend of mine has recommended it to me countless times before. I got that torrented right now.

Black Swan sounds pretty good. We'll see how I enjoy Repulsion. I still got a bunch of free movie passes that I'd like to put to use.

Haven't seen it, but I did see the Jim Carrey SNL sketch making fun of it, and that sketch was pretty terrible.  I never watch SNL, but the bar we were at on Sat. night didn't switch the sound system back to music after the football game was over and it was impossible to ignore.

I've heard of it and wanna watch it.

Once I got caught in an avalanche,
I must have died,
When a Black Swan flew to the rescue and cried
An offer I could not refuse, now I'm working on the other side.

Well, I flew with the bird then, we flew all night
I got to see my prison from a thousand feet high
buy me a drink, and I tell you
'bout the Black Swan

Must keep those black wings folded, until the time is right, to find the one whom I can steal
a soul from, to buy more time
Must keep my secrets untold, until the wrongs are right, the only one I could deceive,
I buy my time; need you to fly on the Black Swan

You can listen to the entirety of Mansell's score here. 

The soundtrack's been on my constant rotation for the last week.  Tracks 12 through 16 is a nineteen minute long powerhouse of musical splendor that's right on par to How to Train Your Dragon's gloriously crafted fifteen minute battle suite.