The difficulty when it comes to reviewing a movie such as Darren Aronofsky’s latest, “Black Swan,” is that the less you know when you enter the theatre, the better.

I would even suggest you stay away from the previews, although in a rare feat for the movie world, they don’t give away the best bits of the film.
All you need to know, for now, is that it goes into non-festival release on December 3rd, 2010. And if it comes to a theatre near you, place “Black Swan” at the top of your must-see list.

I guess I can let slip a few morsels of related information, if you need a little bit more to make that ten dollar ticket seem worth it.
The movie stars Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel and Barbara Hershey. It was directed by Darren Aronofsky and scored by the always brilliant Clint Mansell.
Portman plays Nina, a ballerina in pursuit of perfection – the reverse of Kunis’ character, a ballerina who is more about the joie de vivre than she is about the more technical side of hte craft. Cassel plays a ballet director who views skill in his craft as deeply connected to the dancer’s sexuality, and Barbara Hershey plays a mother devoted entirely to her child.

From here on out I’m going to have to be careful: Aronofsky has created a psychological thriller that, as the saying goes, is what you find when you look up “intense” in the dictionary, and to know too much before the movie starts is to miss out on the film’s impact.

The plot raises a number of questions – about going “too far” for one’s art, about what’s real and what is not, about love and hate and sex and death.

If you know a great deal about the movie before you go in, you’re going to have these questions answered in advance, and you’re probably going to think that “Black Swan” is just another indie thriller.

Do as I say and go in knowing very little, and you’ll see that while it might certainly be an non-blockbuster thriller, it is also a story told with the power of an atomic bomb.

The consensus of the audience at the St. Louis International Film Fest showing of “Black Swan” can be summed up in the comment of somebody sitting behind me: “I need a drink!”

Now, obviously, I’m not saying that this movie is enough to drive you to drink. But it does get itself wrapped around your head, so that you feel kind of wobbly and uncertain for a day or two later.This is perfectly normal and is the result of seeing a really, really good film, and once the buzz wears off you’ll be desperate to discuss “Black Swan” with someone else who has seen it.

I guess I can tell you this: it helps, when watching “Black Swan,” to think about it as though you’re watching the movie from the perspective of Natalie Portman’s character. Don’t try to figure out what’s going on, or try to observe the film from some outside point – it’s so masterfully written, shot and edited that there’s very little room to go outside what’s happening on screen, anyway.

But if you start trying to consider this movie from the point of view of somebody who is not part of the movie, it starts to make very little sense.
This is a film that you’re meant to get totally immersed in – a viewing experience that puts you in the same shoes as Portman’s character, a film that gets into your head and does not let go.