3.5 stars out of 4 -- "[T]old with passionate intensity, gloriously and darkly absurd. It centers on a performance by Natalie Portman that is nothing short of heroic..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (12/01/2010)
"Part tortured-artist drama, BLACK SWAN looks like a tony art-house entertainment. But what gives its a jolt is its giddy, sometimes sleazy exploitation-cinema savvy."
New York Times - Manohla Dargis (12/03/2010)
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "[A] ballet film that captures both the gossamer pink softness of classical dance and the scarier psychological impulses lying just beneath the serene surface."
Washington Post (12/03/2010)
4 stars out of 4 -- "At the center of this dreamlike story is Natalie Portman's exquisite performance of a troubled ballerina who evolves from timid to seriously unhinged."
USA Today - Claudia Puig (12/03/2010)
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "Aronfsky treats ballet as one of the bleeding arts. And so does his breathtaking star, Natalie Portman, who delivers an all-stops-out performance that will soon be the stuff of legend."
Rolling Stone - Peter Travers (12/02/2010)
"[A] gorgeously shot, visually complex film..."
Hollywood Reporter - Kirk Honeycutt (12/01/2010)
"Darren Aronofsky's backstage ballet thriller BLACK SWAN is lurid and voluptuous pulp fun, with a sensationalistic fairy-tale allure." -- Grade: B+
Entertainment Weekly - Owen Gleiberman (12/24/2010)
4 stars out of 5 -- "With Natalie Portman dominating the action and exhibiting a screen maturity not seen from her before, this all-stops-out Grand Guignol melodrama exhibits more than enough blood, sweat and tears to score nicely beyond the ballet crowd."
Box Office - Pete Hammond (12/10/2010)
"BLACK SWAN is a florid, often lurid, completely enthralling film held in place by a disarming Portman, who rarely leaves the frame." -- Grade: A-
A.V. Club - Keith Phipps (12/02/2010)
Included in USA Today's "10 Best Films Of 2010" -- "A deeply disturbing psychological thriller..."
USA Today - Claudia Puig (12/31/2010)
Ranked #7 in Rolling Stone's "10 Best Movies Of 2010" -- "[A] fever dream of a ballet thriller..."
Rolling Stone - Peter Travers (12/24/2010)
Included in Roger Ebert's "The Best Films of 2010" -- "BLACK SWAN uses powerful performances by Natalie Portman and Vincent Cassel to represent archetypal attributes..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (12/16/2010)
4 stars out of 5 -- "BLACK SWAN is a film obsessed with movement, colours, sets, sound design, Clint Mansell's clanging score and, of course, performance..."
Total Film - Jamie Graham (12/30/2010)
4 stars out of 5 -- "Aronofsky pulls off some astonishing visual flourishes....Like THE WRESTLER, BLACK SWAN also showcases Aronofsky's ability to tease career-best turns out of lead actors, in this case Portman."
Empire - Dan Jolin (01/21/2011)
"[A] film that gives the hair on the back of your neck a serious workout."
Sight and Sound - Lisa Mullen (02/01/2011)
4 stars out of 5 -- "[P]rops to Portman, who's in every scene -- and Winona Ryder, brilliant as the neurotic, toxic former prima ballerina."
Uncut - Michael Bonner (02/01/2011)