Black Swan (15)

DISAPPOINTMENT awaits anyone expecting a nice little film about girls prancing about the stage in frilly frocks and leaping into the arms of men wearing tights tighter than a drunk on a Saturday night.

They will find this overheated psychological thriller tutu much with its unabandoned melodrama, sexual variations and flesh-creeping gore. For some of us, that’s just what we want from a movie.

Think Red Shoes mated with Psycho.

The awards nominations are piling up for the latest from director Darren Aronofsky, whose past work includes The Wrestler and Requiem For A Dream. Star Natalie Portman quite rightly took home a Golden Globe from Sunday’s ceremony for an amazing performance as an ambitious ballet dancer descending into madness.

An Oscar can’t be far behind.

While the performances show dedication above and beyond the call of duty – Portman trained for ten months – Aronofsky’s brilliant direction echoes the fragile mindset of its leading ballerina Nina.

New York ballet company artistic director Thomas Leroy (Cassel) dumps ageing prima ballerina Beth Macintyre (Ryder) from a sexy new production of Swan Lake and replaces her with Nina (Portman). She’s a good dancer but Leroy wants her to embrace her dark side to play the Black Swan.

Her understudy Lily (Kunis) seems much more able to bring out the sensual side of the role, causing Nina to worry that she’ll be usurped. Her mother (Hershey), a former dancer who gave up her career to raise her daughter, urges her on but Nina’s mind is as fragile as her body. She becomes increasingly paranoid.

For once ballet on screen is exciting as Aronovsky uses handheld camerawork, close-ups and odd angles to reflect Nina’s emotional breakdown as the line between fact and fantasy is increasingly blurred.

Portman is excellent, but so are those around her, including Cassel as the demanding choreographer and Kunis as Nina’s dance rival who may, or may not, be after her crown.