I just want to be perfect.

Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Winona Ryder, Barbara Hershey, Benjamin Millepied, Ksenia Solo, Kristina Anapau, Janet Montgomery, Sebastian Stan

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"Perfection is not just about control. It's also about letting go. Surprise yourself so you can surprise the audience. Transcendence! Very few have it in them." - Thomas Leroy

Why watch this? It is a psychological ballet mind-bender that's both complex and gripping.

Plot Summary: Young NYC ballet dancer, Nina Sayers, earns the coveted dual lead role in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. She's a natural as the innocent Odette, but struggles as the dark and carnal Black Swan. She gives it everything, both to please her over-critical mother and demanding director, Thomas Leroy. Nina also feels pressures from another dancer, Lily, who is more sexually uninhibited and appears to also want the lead role.

Dad's Preview: This intense, often disturbing film delivers on many levels, as it fades in and out of reality. This is due to Nina's hallucinatory descent into exhaustion, jealousy and an unwavering obsession to be perfect. It is beautifully shot, frantic and dreamlike, a play within a play. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards (Picture, Director, Actress, Cinematography and Editing), but took home only one - Best Actress for Natalie Portman, whose haunting performance is her best work to date.

Cross Creek Pic., Protozoa Pic., Phoenix Pic., Dune Ent.;
Fox Searchlight Pictures