Nina (Natalie Portman), a talented but disturbed ballerina, finds herself in a bittersweet position when her director retires the company’s star (Winona Rider) and puts her in the leading role of a revised version of Swan Lake.  The taxing requirements of the role—the technical differences a dancer must master in order to play both the innocent white swan and her evil alter ego, the black swan—immediately begin to affect Nina’s already fragile character.  When new dancer, Lily (Mila Kunis), begins to sabotage Nina, intent on stealing her role, Nina begins to lose her grip on reality, and the results are both horrific and profound.

Black Swan is an artful visual work, the direction (Pi’s Darren Aronofsky) both beautiful and stylistic.  The dance scenes are amazing, particularly those in the opening night performance, the camera taking one out of oneself for the moment and into the dancer.  Aronofsky’s portrayal of Nina’s descent into madness is well done, the visual portrayal of her slow self-destruction both disturbing and absorbing.  With that said, the tension that goes along with her torment does not build so much as it does remain unsettlingly constant until nearly the final moments of the film.
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hematically, Black Swan is brilliant.  Aronofsky show’s Nina’s transformation from innocent and anxious “white swan” into the confident and sexy “black swan” with phenomenal use of black and white imagery.  Nina begins in white: her clothing is white, the cinematography is mostly white, and her character is naïve and innocent.  The scene in which she stands on the white marble staircase, wearing all white, with white marble predominantly in the background, the show’s director (Thomas Leroy) in a black suit, is a remarkable shot.  As the film progresses and Nina slowly gives up more of herself to her art to perfect the “black swan,” she begins to wear grey with her white.  As she loses her innocence—both as the result of her director’s sexual advances and Lily’s destructive rivalry—Nina’s clothing, as well as the cinematography, increasingly include more predominance of black imagery.

Even more beautiful, however, is the depiction of the artist’s symbolic giving up oneself for one’s art.  Nina’s sacrifice reflects the sacrifice all artists experience in refining their creative endeavors—and also how all-consuming one’s art can become if taken to too dark of a place.  Her mother (Barbara Hershey), who had given up dancing due to her pregnancy with Nina, is key to understanding Nina’s character, as her mental illness and need to continue expressing herself artistically (both clearly depicted by her childlike paintings) reflect Nina’s own journey as the troubled artist.  Nina’s final scene is both beautiful and profound, and her performance is amazing.

My only two complaints are the pacing of Nina’s anxiety, which I already noted, and the erotic scene between Nina and Lily.  While I appreciate the symbolism of Lily’s character, and the concept of her character thematically making love to herself is sound, the actual character motivation seemed a little lacking to me.  The fact that Lily had dosed Nina’s drink with ecstasy only makes the scene partially forgiving, but without any prior indication that Nina might have homoerotic fantasies, the scene, as beautifully executed as it is, just didn’t work for me.

Finally, I must applaud the filmmakers and producers involved with this film for such a provocative ending.  Black Swan offers hope that there still exists a market beyond the high demand for the happily-ever-after, and I give huge kudos to the people responsible for that.  Because of such artistic choices, like so many of Aronofsky’s films, Black Swan is like fine literature on screen and I highly recommend it to fans of art house and alternative film.
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A couple of weeks ago, I was chatting with my friends and peers at Un:Bound, when we got on the subject of vampire television shows and movies.  The chat proved to be quite inspirational.  Fellow author C. M. Kempe beat me to the punch in blogging about some personal favorites, but after sitting on this for several days, I’ve decided I’m going to go ahead and post this.

Following is my list, in chronological order, of five vampire films and TV shows that are must-sees.  If you are a fan of vampire fiction, then you might be familiar with everything on my list.  If not, but you still enjoy a good horror, check out these five greats:
 
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Near Dark (1987)

A man gets pulled into a group of vampires—and their very dark world—after getting bitten.  He struggles to survive, the moral dilemma of “kill or be killed” weighing heavily on him.  He falls for the woman who turned him, learning that she is as much a hapless victim as he, while he works against the clock to reclaim his humanity.

Near Dark is a rare gem, with good dialogue, great acting, and an ending that will leave you with goose bumps.  The special effects are great for 1987, and the vampires’ mythos and lifestyle are both well conceived.  The story gives a terrifying look at the vampire’s point of view, without romanticizing or glorifying it.  These vampires are hard, gritty, and as evil as they come.  They can’t fly or control minds, but they are nonetheless scary.

Near Dark won’t leave you with nightmares, but it will haunt you.
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Forever Knight (1992-1996)

An 800-year-old vampire attempts to right the wrongs of his life by swearing off murder and becoming a police detective.  He becomes close friends with the medical examiner, who learns his secret and researches a way to make him human again.

Forever Knight is one of those rare guilty pleasures that I looked forward to every week.  The special effects are on par with other early ‘90s television shows: minimalistic, but effective.  The character dynamics are fun, the story is provocative, and the progression of the series is well crafted.  The lead character’s struggle to interact with and “be” human is fascinating. I still can see in my mind’s eye the recurring scene in which he watches the sunrise through live camera feeds while drinking blood from a wine bottle.  Brilliant!
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Kindred: The Embraced (1996)

A Police detective stumbles upon a vampire underground while investigating mob activities, finding the five secret clans on the brink of war.  He and the leader of the clans, who slowly falls for a human reporter, work together to keep order and prevent the truth about the “Kindred” hidden from the mainstream.  The series is based on the role-playing game, Vampire: The Masquerade.

It is unfortunate that Kindred: The Embraced only lasted for one season, as it had amazing potential.  The characters were well developed, the acting very good, and the storyline intriguing.  Tragically, the lead actor died in a motorcycle accident before another season could be shot.
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Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

This has got to be one of the most novel vampire movie concepts I’ve ever seen: A vampire plays a human playing a vampire in the silent film, Nosferatu.  The director finds it makes for a realistic horror film—but he also loses most of his cast and crew during the filming.

Shadow of the Vampire is artfully dark and delightfully smart.  The acting is phenomenal across the board, the character progression flawless (particularly the director’s descent into madness as he sees the repercussions of bringing a real vampire onboard accrue), and one of the best endings I’ve seen.  This movie is highly disturbing and equally provocative.
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Let the Right One In (2008)

A little boy befriends a little girl, who turns out to be a vampire temporarily living next door with her adult caretaker.  As the town becomes plagued with murders, the boy slowly learns his friend’s secret.

Let the Right One In has so many amazing qualities, it’s hard to know where to begin in describing it.  The dynamics created between the perceived childhood innocence in both lead characters and the bloodthirsty monster the little girl truly is makes this story both creepy and genius.  The friendship that develops between the two lead characters is deep and touching, but the moral dilemmas posed through the story’s progression are equally poignant—while also, at the same time, being absolutely horrifying.  Let the Right One In may be the last on this list, but it is probably one of the greatest vampire films ever made.

 
What do you think?  Is there a movie you think should be on this list and/or removed?  Do you think any of the more popular vampire movies are better?  If so, why?
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