Single White Ballerina
Natalie Portman and Co. Attend NY Screening of Aronofsky's Beautiful, Brutal Black Swan
Black Swan might be the scariest ballerina movie ever made—one reviewer has called it "a Red Shoes on acid." Natalie Portman plays a perfection-obsessed bunhead who starts losing her mind as her art forces her to get in touch with her dark side. In preparation for the role, the actress underwent a significant transformation of her own: six months of intensive training that gave her the ultra-sinewy look of a ballet dancer, not to mention credible turns.
"She probably lost a few toenails along the way," Portman's trainer, former New York City Ballet dancer Mary Helen Bowers, surmised at last night's premiere. Added director Darren Aronofsky: "We had a dislocated rib, and Natalie banged her head and had to have an MRI." And that's just the off-screen violence.
For Rodarte's Kate and Laura Mulleavy, who designed the movie's striking ballet costumes, the combination of brutality and beauty was irresistible. "If I had imagined a dream film—this is definitely the one to sign us up for," Laura said. The same might have gone for choreographer Benjamin Millepied, whose work with Portman on set sparked a much publicized romance.
"The entire movie is about sexuality," suggested Mila Kunis, who plays Portman's hot-blooded rival. Undoubtedly, the film's Freudian twists add a layer of interest to a category of professionals generally thought to be paragons of poise and discipline. But for Vincent Cassel, who plays the company's director, the sex appeal of dancers isn't all that complicated. Quipped the Frenchman: "They're very flexible."
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