Just watched the movie Black Swan directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman as the lead character. It’s quite well done but it’s rated R for a reason. Mildly intense in places. Mormons and Baptists will want to select “Benji Does Dollywood” or some other wholesome meditation instead.
I have to say that Portman played the transformation of the White Swan into the Black Swan both on and off stage in a most compelling way. The actual Black Swan scene near the end is brief but spellbinding.

Hi Gauss: I thought the performance was great. I was surprised to see quite a wide range of responses however.
The review at tenured radical was less positve:
http://tenured-radical.blogspot.com/2011/01/radical-culture-corner-corner-sex-lies.html
Really enjoyed the HF post – thanks!
Well I thought it was masterful in many respects. Cinematography, suond design, special effects, writing and acting. What I especially liked about it was how her story arc mirrored that of the swam story itself as contained within the ballet. I liked the constant wondering what was hallucination, what was paranormal, and what was real. The unhealthy interactions between her and her mother were really well done. Subtle little glimpses into the high stakes, low esteem world of ballet were beautifully executed without being heavy handed. I will own this DVD once it is out, and I buy very few.
I think you put it very well and I agree with your assessment.
This is completely irrelevant to the subject, but I’ve just got to share this late breaking water chemistry news:
http://scoopertino.com/apple-blasts-into-supermarkets-with-revolutionary-apple-water/