Black Swan

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Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Produced by Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer, Brian Oliver, and Scott Franklin
Screenplay by Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz Story by John J. McLaughlin and Andres Heinz

With: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder, Benjamin Millepied, Ksenia Solo, Kristina Anapau, Janet Montgomery, Sebastian Stan, Toby Hemingway, and Marcia Jean Kurtz

Cinematography: Matthew Libatique
Editing: Andrew Weisblum
Music: Clint Mansell

Runtime: 108 min
Release Date: 17 December 2010
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Color: Color

Twitter Capsule:

Darren Aronofsky boldly utilizes every trick, trope, and cliche of melodrama, body horror, and psychological thriller to capture the fear and anxiety of a fragile young ballerina (Natalie Portman) selected to dance the lead in the New York City Ballet’s production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.

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How I Rate Films



An All-timer. One of the 5000 greatest films. Usually only awarded after repeat viewings.



One of the year's best. An excellent film. Possibly one of the 5000 greatest and certainly worthy of repeated viewing.



A very good film. Most films I see fall in the two- or three-star ranking. I give an extra half-star to three-star films that could end up on the list of the 5000 greatest.



A good film that fully succeeds at what it sets out to accomplish. Well worth seeing, but less effective than a three-and-a-half stars films and often less consequential than a two-and-a-half star film.



A noteworthy or enjoyable film that I can’t fully recommend. Still, two-and-a-half star films are often some of the most memorable films of a year.



A disappointment, an interesting failure, or just a bad movie. But still worth seeing if you’ve got the time.



A bad, rant-worthy film. Should be avoided regardless of hype or talent involved.



One of the worst films.