The whole cast is so good.  Mila Kunis plays Nina’s rival, Lily.  Barbara Hershey is Nina’s controlling stage mother.  Vincent Cassel runs the company.

The whole look of the movie works.  It’s over-the-top and hard to distinguish what is real from what is fantasy.  There’s a theme of duality, black and white, that plays through the film – it’s compelling, and so well done.

Nicole Kidman is the woman in question, a young widow faced with the possible reincarnation of her dead husband. Her life goes from content to tortuous as the events unravel that lead her to question a child’s identity, and her own sanity. Kidman is mesmerizing – when she is lost in thought we’re lost right along with her.

This movie stimulated more conversation in my household afterwards than any movie has in a long time.

The film is technically fascinating – it’s show in a way we haven’t seem before – as if it is all one long, continuous scene. The acting is stellar. Edward Norton is unpredictable and electric as a talented yet unstable actor. Emma Stone plays a troubled teen trying to get to know her difficult father.

Film fans will want to see this movie to appreciate the originality of it. But just be warned that the story is dark, the characters sullen and mostly unlikeable.

Really interesting film.