By Hui Ling Tham, Staff Writer

After its world premiere at the 67th Annual Venice Film Festival last month, Entertainment Weekly reported Darren Aronofsky’s, “Black Swan,” a psychological thriller that takes place in the ballet profession, as “already set to be one of the year’s most love-it-or-hate-it movies.”

Variety described the film as “a wicked, sexy and ultimately devastating study of a young dancer’s all-consuming ambition,” while Hollywoodreporter.com claims it is “an instant guilty pleasure, a gorgeously shot, visually complex film whose badness is what’s so good about it.”

“Black Swan” focuses on the rivalry between a veteran ballet dancer, Nina (Natalie Portman) and a novice dancer, Lilly (Mila Kunis), in a New York City ballet company. As both dancers vie to be the best ballerina and prepare for their roles in the new production of Swan Lake, their relationship off stage begins to take unusual turns.

Actors and actresses featured in “Black Swan” include Vincent Cassel (“Ocean’s Twelve”) as artistic director Thomas Leroy, Barbara Hershey as Nina’s mother, Erica and Winona Ryder as Beth MacIntyre, the prima ballerina who Nina replaces.

Although the film will not be released until December, it has been screened at many different film festivals since its world premiere in Venice, Italy. Last month, “Black Swan” had a sneak screening at the Telluride Film Festival and a Gala screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. This month, the film was screened at the New Orleans Film Festival and will be showing at the Austin Film Festival.

Movie: Black Swan

Directed by: Darren Aronofsky

Release Date: Dec. 3

Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis