COURTESY OF NU-METRO

The fifth film from the ever intelligent Darren Aronofsky is a sensuous psychological thriller set in the world of the New York City Ballet: it plays like a shape-shifting amalgam of Rosemary's Baby and The Red Shoes. Natalie Portman plays Nina, a driven but troubled young woman who lusts after the lead role in Swan Lake. The French artistic director of a new production decides to replace the prima ballerina, looking for someone who can combine the innocence of the White Swan with the deception and eroticism of the Black Swan. Nina is his first choice, but to succeed in the role she has to shed her inhibitions and reveal her darker, wilder side. To do this she has to convince him that she is a better choice than her rival Lily, who oozes sexuality through every pore of her tutu. As with his Mickey Rourke epiphany The Wrestler, Aronofsky is at home with obsession which shimmers through the veil of sanity and normality.