--- title: "Black Swan: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/black-swan/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/black-swan" critics_score: 70 critics_reviews: 18 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Black Swan (2010): what the critics said Critics' score 70 from 18 reviews: 12 positive, 2 mixed, 4 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Black Swan’s feverish mixture of ballet drama and psychological horror, with praise concentrated on Natalie Portman’s physically committed performance as a dancer consumed by perfection. Darren Aronofsky’s direction also draws approval for its intensity, mirror imagery and willingness to push backstage anxiety into bodily horror. Supporters find the excess gripping, disturbing and sometimes entertaining, accepting that plausibility is not the film’s chief concern. The spread is wide, however, and the same hysteria that excites admirers alienates detractors. Reservations centre on thin characterisation, overwrought symbolism and a treatment of artistic ambition that some find punishing without being insightful. The Los Angeles Times finds Aronofsky’s approach bludgeoning, while the Financial Times objects more fundamentally to what it sees as a lack of understanding or affection for ballet. Even among less persuaded critics, Portman’s performance and the visual ambition retain some support. ## Empire — Dan Jolin Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 27 July 2009. Festival review. Aronofsky delivers another impressive, technically masterful film that pairs physical intensity with psychological depth, highlighted by Portman's career-best performance. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/black-swan-review/) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. A full-out Gothic horror about bodily and mental breakdown, masterfully shot and performed, with Portman giving an Oscar-worthy display in this Grand Guignol tale of performance pain. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/dance-on-the-dark-side-for-black-swan-7423295.html) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2010. Festival review. Aronofsky delivers an enthralling, alternately disturbing and exhilarating dark study of a mentally fragile performer obsessed with perfection that ranks among the year's most exciting films. Natalie Portman's transformative lead performance as the repressed ballerina is a standout highlight. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/-black-swan/5017589.article) ## The Guardian — Xan Brooks Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 20 January 2011. The critic praises Darren Aronofsky’s ballet psychodrama as a gripping, over-the-top study of female breakdown and artistic obsession, highlighting Natalie Portman’s tremendous performance as the fragile, unraveling ballerina Nina. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/jan/20/black-swan-review) ## Radio Times — Damon Wise Rating 4/5. Aronofsky's dark, hypnotic study of obsession in the ballet world is exhilarating and disturbing, with bravura direction and a mesmerising performance from Natalie Portman that overcomes occasional lapses in logic and originality. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-vx7stp/black-swan/) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 4/5. 18 January 2011. The film is high-class trash that works best if viewers surrender to its hysteria, paranoia and emotional excesses rather than logic. Aronofsky creates an orgy of fun reflecting the protagonist's madness through mirrors and lurid imagery. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/black-swan) ## Total Film — Jamie Graham Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 30 December 2010. Aronofsky fuses psychodrama, horror and backstage elements into a stylish, exhilarating monument to cinema obsessed with performance and mirrors, buoyed by Portman's standout turn. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/black-swan-review/) ## The Independent — Nicholas Barber Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 23 January 2011. An effective mix of soap opera and Gothic horror that works best in its unhinged final stretch, though characters remain archetypes and Portman's arc has limited room to develop. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/black-swan-darren-aronofsky-110-mins-15-morning-glory-roger-michell-108-mins-12a-2191817.html) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 3 December 2010. The critic views the film as high-art trash and a shameless mix of The Red Shoes and Roger Corman that prizes hysteria, finding it hard to enjoy due to Aronofsky's bludgeoning sledgehammer style despite a plausible idea about perfection's toll. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-dec-03-la-et-black-swan-20101203-story.html) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Kirk Honeycutt Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 14 October 2010. The critic finds the attempt to blend horror-thriller elements with the world of ballet unsuccessful and preposterous. They single out the audacity and visual complexity of Aronofsky's approach, along with strong performances, as elements that make it a guilty pleasure despite its flaws. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/black-swan-film-review-29918/) ## The New Yorker — David Denby Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 6 December 2010. The critic calls the film a luridly beautiful farrago mixing ballet tensions with sex, blood, and horror flourishes, praising its controlled savagery and aestheticism but criticizing it as pompous, self-glorifying, and unpleasant in its interpretation of an artist's task. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/12/06/fancy-footwork) ## Financial Times — Apollinaire Scherr Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 2 December 2010. The critic finds the film odious and lacking in affection for ballet, complaining that Aronofsky mixes up the characters in Swan Lake and focuses on torture and self-destruction without insight into the art form. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/7cf4a832-fe38-11df-abac-00144feab49a) ## Film Comment — José Teodoro The critic describes Black Swan as a horror film that gradually reveals itself, linking it to The Wrestler as a companion piece while noting its sensationalistic approach akin to De Palma's work rather than Bergman. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/black-swan/) ## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis Rating Critic’s Pick. 3 December 2010. The critic describes the film as a witchy brew of madness and cunning centered on a ballerina's drive and unraveling, praising Natalie Portman's smashing, bruising performance. Aronofsky is noted for mixing highbrow art-house elements with sleazy exploitation savvy and genre riffs. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/movies/03black.html) ## Variety — Peter Debruge 1 September 2010. Festival review. The critic calls it a wicked, sexy and ultimately devastating study of a young dancer's all-consuming ambition, praising Natalie Portman's courageous turn and Aronofsky's exploration of the brutal ballet world as a complement to The Wrestler. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2010/film/reviews/black-swan-1117943400/) ## Den of Geek — N P Rating 5/5. 20 January 2011. The critic calls Black Swan a masterpiece of obsession and its consequences, a perfect cap to Aronofsky's independent work. They single out Natalie Portman's incredible, fully inhabited performance as the key to the film's believable transformation and intensity. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/black-swan-review/) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating A. 3 December 2010. The critic finds Black Swan a brilliant and unforgettable psychological thriller that demands repeat viewings. They single out Natalie Portman's astounding performance as one of the best of the year. [Read the review](https://collider.com/black-swan-movie-review-darren-aronofsky-natalie-portman/) ## /Film — Peter Sciretta Rating 9.5/10. 6 September 2010. Festival review. The critic hails the film as a brilliant mind fuck and one of the boldest studio films in years, a psychological horror-thriller that is unlike anything else. They single out Natalie Portman's transformative performance and the film's erotic and disturbing imagery balanced with realism. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/510996/telluride-review-darren-aronofskys-black-swan/) ## Eye for Film — James Benefield Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 23 October 2010. The critic calls the film as elegant and overblown as ballet itself, an ambitious and accomplished horror-drama-psychosexual thriller that revels in its extremes. They single out the bold central performance from Natalie Portman and the revelation of Barbara Hershey as the suffocating mother. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/black-swan-film-review-by-james-benefield) ## HeyUGuys — Ian Gilchrist Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 18 January 2011. The critic describes the film as a vivid and gripping mix of psycho-thriller, horror and backstage drama that is thoroughly entertaining but falls short of masterpiece status. They praise Natalie Portman's committed and physical lead performance while noting that director Aronofsky has yet to top Requiem for a Dream. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/black-swan-review/) ## The Wrap — Leah Rozen Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 2 December 2010. The critic calls the film fascinating and fun to watch but ultimately silly, describing it as high art played as high camp. They single out Natalie Portman's complex and dedicated performance for praise while faulting the luridly lunatic tone and overwrought symbolism toward the end. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/black-swan-reviewed-leah-rozen-22972/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/black-swan.md