The physically convincing Natalie Portman literally leaves blood on the stage as ballerina Nina Sayers, but director Darren Aronofsky—so very kind to his female characters in Requiem for a Dream—pushes her for a one-note performance. That note is petulance to the point of tears, with her querulous eyebrows graphic representations of the two Swan Queens she’s to play in an allegedly new take on Swan Lake.
If the director, who displayed considerable passion for another performance art in The Wrestler, has any interest in ballet as more than a novel …