Black Swan (2010)

Nobody warned me a ballet movie would have me checking every mirror in the house before bed. Black Swan is a horror movie in a tutu, and Darren Aronofsky does not let you breathe for 108 minutes. Natalie Portman plays Nina like a violin string tuned one notch too tight, and you spend the whole movie waiting to hear it snap. Mila Kunis is the opposite, loose and easy, which makes her feel like a threat even when she’s just offering a ride. Barbara Hershey’s mom is scarier than anything with claws. The weakness is Vincent Cassel’s ballet boss, who talks about art like he’s reading it off a cereal box, and the movie’s big ideas mostly come out of his mouth. Subtle it is not. It made $330.2 million worldwide on a reported $13 million budget, which is nuts for a film this unsettling. A 9.0 because it’s a nightmare built with a dancer’s precision. $588 says you catch your reflection tonight and look at it a beat longer than usual.

What works: Natalie Portman’s wound-tight performance, and a camera that follows her so close you feel every nerve.

What doesn’t: The ballet director says the movie’s themes out loud, and the symbolism lands with all the subtlety of a dropped piano.

Who it’s for: Perfectionists, and horror fans who are sure they don’t like ballet.