We all know The Movie Mash is a work of art, that goes without saying, but is it possible for other websites to be art? I propose that the new official site for Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, www.ijustwanttobeperfect.com is just such a site. I came across the website (thanks to Slashfilm) a few days ago and have been exploring it ever since.

Black Swan follows the dancer Nina, played by Natalie Portman, as she desperately tries to win the lead in a production of Swan Lake. Her understudy, played by Mila Kunis, starts to show more potential, creating tension and an unlikely friendship. But being an Aronfsky film, it goes much deeper than that and things start to get really strange. Check out the trailer for a better look at the film.

I love the set up of this site. When you type it in the address you are met with an audio clip of Natalie Portman talking about a dream. The center image morphs and changes, revealing stills and short clips from the film. When you scroll your mouse over the center image, the picture changes. You see Ms. Portman in a black feather dress, eyes wide open with red irises. Wow… This just looks awesome!

Clicking on that center image produces a calendar, not of dates, but the number of days before the film opens. Yeah, the site looks great, but they still have to market you know. Each tile is actually a very short clip of the film, and this is where my legs turn to jelly. There is no diagetic sound! Meaning, the clips themselves provide no audio, instead, the background music intensifies and fades to nothing as you watch slow, eerie action unfold on screen. The feeling is visceral and somewhat disturbing. Nothing in any specific clip is a spoiler, which is great, but it gives you a great idea of what is in store for you as a viewer. There is, however, an interesting twist awaiting you should you start typing directly on that screen.

One very interesting clip, with some potential spoilers, does pop up if you type in “Rothbart” on the calendar page (Rothbart is the villain of the Swan Lake ballet). With this in mind I did some research on the ballet in hopes of unlocking other clips. After about 45 minutes of frantic typing, I came up with nothing. Oh well, now you can give it a try. 

Black Swan opens December 3rd.

What Do You Think? Discuss.