Nina Sayers/The Swan Queen
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Sep 17, 2017 · The way she conveys her shy, fearful, fragile and almost frigid character is rarely to be found in contemporary cinema; the most astonishing thing is that she can play both the Black and the White Swans in a manner that is compelling, virtuous and spell-binding.
Dec 1, 2010 · Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” is a full-bore melodrama, told with passionate intensity, gloriously and darkly absurd. It centers on a performance by Natalie Portman that is nothing short of heroic, and mirrors the conflict of good and evil in Tchaikovsky’s ballet “Swan Lake.” It is one thing to lose yourself in your art.
It's pretty obvious, in my opinion, that the main theme of this movie is that of the protagonist, Nina, undergoing a psychosexual maduration, evolving from an undeveloped child to a full woman. There's also the recurrent, easier to see theme of obsession with work, and the demands of the world of arts.
Black Swan is a masterpiece. Recommendation. I can't praise this movie enough. The score, the atmosphere, the story, and holy fuck, the acting. The secondary characters are all interesting and well acted, but Natalie Portman absolutely steals the show. Probably the best acting I've ever seen.
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Nina Sayers/White Swan/Odette – Natalie PortmanLily/Black Swan/Odile – Mila KunisThomas Leroy/The Gentleman – Vincent CasselErica Sayers/The Queen – Barbara HersheyI think we can all agree that when you first watch Black Swanthe immediate questions you have are “How much was real? What was real? Why was Nina seeing what she saw?” There’s some good news and bad news. The good news is there’s an answer. The bad news is you’re gonna have to deal with me for some paragraphs. But, I promise you, you’re going to co...
Real fast, let’s talk about titles. What did they call the movie about Muhammed Ali? Ali. What did they call the movie about Ray Charles? Ray. What did they call the movie about the Oakland Athletics changing the economics and talent evaluation in baseball through the “moneyball” system? Moneyball. Those are all very specific titles to ensure peopl...
The Wrestleris concerned with showing the issues of a wrestling career. Despite his fame, Ram barely has any money and lacks the appearance and skills for a part-time job (much less a salaried 9-5). He is physically limited. He isn’t married because the travel and strain has always been too problematic for a romantic relationship. Likewise, his rel...
Nina and hallucinations
As Black Swanis so heavily reliant on duality, it makes sense there’s a duality to the hallucinations. On the one hand, there are signs aplenty that Nina is mentally ill. On the other hand, there’s her desire for perfection and what that means when it comes to being the White Swan and Black Swan. Let’s first look at the mental illness, then we’ll look at her obsession with perfection. The signs of extreme mental illness, like with everything else in this movie, build up over time. We know Nin...
The White and Black Swans
In the climax, when Nina finally gets to dance, we see her oscillate between two emotional states. The first is someone completely frayed and overwhelmed and either on the brink of tears or crying. The second is angry, violent, territorial, confident, sexy, dangerous. At one point, these two sides of Nina actually fight one another. Some read this back and forth as indicative of Nina’s mental health woes. And yeah, definitely. But we know that Nina wants the performance to be perfect. And we’...
The connection to Perfect Blue
Aronofsky denies it, but Black Swan is a retelling of the Japanese anime film Perfect Blue. Back in 2000, he referenced Perfect Blue in Requiem for a Dream, doing a full recreation of a shot—like, straight up copy and paste. Which is fine. There’s nothing wrong with that kind of homage. But the main character in Perfect Blueis named Mima. She’s stalked by another version of herself. She’s trying to be an actress and the plot from the murder mystery she’s working on dovetails with her own life...
Did Nina kill Beth?
Beth is similar to The Wrestler’s Randy “The Ram”. Someone who was brilliant and beloved but has aged out of their prime and is struggling. Having lost the limelight and attention she’s harmed herself and ended up in the hospital. Nina has looked up to Beth, has dreamed of being the next “Beth MacIntyre”. Going so far as to steal Beth’s earrings and perfume just to feel a bit closer to her, to being perfect. The point of the scene is to set up Nina’s rejection of Beth. Beth was Nina. Young, b...
What’s the deal with Nina’s mom?
Black Swan is about performers and pressures they face. And it’s pretty common for high-level performers to have obsessive parents who push them. Usually, there’s a degree of the parent wanting to live vicariously through the child. Like the parent never achieved what they wanted so they try and force the kid to do the same. But this can come with a degree of resentment. In this case, Nina’s mom, Erica, is both rooting for and jealous of her daughter. Part of her controlling behavior is becau...
Did Nina and Lily really hook up?
Probably not. Nina is an unreliable narrator so her version of events isn’t really accurate. What we hear from Lily is that she went home with one of the guys from the club. So what happened with Nina, then? Nina has been infantilized by her mother. Part of that has been a complete walling off of her sexuality. Which is something Thomas points out. That Nina doesn’t have access to this sensual part of herself that’s necessary for the Black Swan role. It’s something Lily does have. Lily’s care...
Have more unanswered questions about Black Swan? Are there themes or motifs we missed? Is there more to explain about the ending? Please post your questions and thoughts in the comments section! We’ll do our best to address every one of them. If we like what you have to say, you could become part of our movie guide!
While Nina is perfect for the role of the White Swan, Lily personifies the Black Swan. As rivalry between the two dancers transforms into a twisted friendship, Nina's dark side begins...
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Jul 8, 2022 · Black Swan Ending, Explained. Diksha Sundriyal. Updated July 8, 2022. For the lovers of fairy tales, ‘Swan Lake’ plays like a dream. The grace of ballet and the heartbreaking story of Odette makes for an overwhelming experience, when done right. For a ballet dancer, it is one of the dream roles, and also, one of the most challenging ones.
