Black Swan

Rating: 10/10 (26 July 2016)

"Black Swan" is actually an adaptation of the play Swan Lake. I know that would seem obvious to you if you haven't seen the film, but many believe the play is only a plot device in the film to trigger her eventual descent into insanity. But as Thomas Leroy states early in the film, Swan Lake is "Done to death, I know. But not like this. We strip it down. Make it visceral and real." And that's exactly what the film does. Rather than being the actual play, it becomes a dark character study and psychological thriller, but it still follows the same story.
The film begins similar to the play, with a prelude where the spell is cast on Nina Sayers, our main character. This spell is not a literal one however, but rather the curse of the play, and how it changes her. I believe she is split into three parts, and these are represented by the characters Beth Macintyre, Erica Sayers, and, of course, The Black Swan. Erica, her mother, is the side of her that demands perfection, and wants to keep her innocence in order to stay focused. The Black Swan is the side of her that wants to lose her innocence and embrace her imperfection, and basically say "live a little." Beth Macintyre is the side of her that realizes her imperfections and punishes herself for them. Thomas Leroy is what she wants to be. He is perfection for the play. He knows exactly what he needs to be and when. This is represented by Nina peeing standing up towards the beginning of the film, and when she has sex with The Black Swan in a dream and confronts her the next day about it, but The Black Swan says "Not unless you have a penis and your name is Tom." She seems to be referring to the man named Tom whom they met the night before, but who else is named Tom? Thomas Leroy. These sides of her are also represented by the colors black and white, which are important in the film. The Black Swan, Erica, and Beth all wear black throughout the film, showing that they are the negative aspect in her and the struggle between them is what eventually drives her insane. Thomas Leroy usually wears gray, or both white and black at once, showing that he has both the black swan and the white swan in him, but, unlike Nina, he has it in perfect balance, there is no struggle within him.
She tries to get rid of all three sides of her, but once she finally does it, she realizes they are still there, and don't seem to be leaving anytime soon, so the only way to freedom (and perfection) is suicide, just as the white swan in the play.