Psychological ballet thriller Black Swan premieres

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Psychological ballet thriller Black Swan premieres

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23 October,2010 12:28 pm

Director Darren Aronofsky said he was an outsider in Hollywood in spite of previously being nominated for an Academy Award with many film critics predicting another nod for psychological thriller Black Swan. He was on hand at the BFI London Film Festival along with Vincent Cassel and Mila Kunis. The film's star Natalie Portman did not attend. The 29-year-old plays a New York ballerina whose obsession with technical perfection takes a heavy toll on mind and body. Finally chosen for a lead role after years of toiling in the shadows, Portman's character Nina is derailed when a new member of her dance corps threatens to steal the part. With scenes of violence, elements of supernatural, a sex scene with her fellow female lead and an emotional rollercoaster ride, Black Swan has been described as a step up for the actress best known for her turns in the Star Wars series. In what many critics are calling the year of the actress, Portman is considered to be a strong contender for a nod. Aronofsky said she deserved to win. But when it came to his own expectations of finally taking home Oscar gold, despite a Best Directing nod for last year The Wrestler and, Aronofsky said he had an outside chance. Vincent Cassel plays the sleazy artistic director of the acting troupe who pushes Portman's character to find her own inner black swan. One of France's leading actors over the past 20 years, Cassel said he prefers to play characters who aren't well liked because most of the time I think they're more complex than good guys and I think they represent reality better, he said. After repeatedly shunning Hollywood roles, he agreed that Aronofsky wasn't a Hollywood director: But I don't know if we can say it's a typical Hollywood movie. It started as an independent movie and I'm not sure Darren Aronofsky is really a Hollywood director or a classical one, he said. Mila Kunis was also lauded for her role as Portman's rival who smokes, drinks and flirts outrageously with men -- all the things Portman's character Nina is not. Kunis said the movie appealed to women because it showed the competitive and sometimes catty nature of the female psyche. Black Swan is out in U.S. cinemas December 3 with global rollouts to follow.