Black Swan

***Black Swan*** is a 2010 American psychological horror-thriller film directed by Darren Aronofsky, written by Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, and John McLaughlin, and starring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis and Winona Ryder. The plot revolves around a production of Tchaikovsky's *Swan Lake* ballet by a prestigious New York City company. The production requires a ballerina to play the innocent and fragile White Swan, for which the committed dancer Nina (Portman) is a perfect fit, as well as the dark and sensual Black Swan, which are qualities better embodied by the new arrival Lily (Kunis). Nina is overwhelmed by a feeling of immense pressure when she finds herself competing for the part, causing her to lose her tenuous grip on reality and descend into a living nightmare.

Usually described as a psychological thriller, *Black Swan* can be also interpreted as a metaphor for achieving artistic perfection, with all the psychological and physical challenges one might encounter, i.e. "the film can be perceived as a poetic metaphor for the birth of an artist, that is, as a visual representation of Nina’s psychic odyssey toward achieving artistic perfection and of the price to be paid for it."

Aronofsky conceived the premise by connecting his viewings of a production of *Swan Lake* with an unrealized screenplay about understudies and the notion of being haunted by a double, similar to the folklore surrounding doppelgängers. Aronofsky cites Fyodor Dostoyevsky's *The Double* as another inspiration for the film. The director also considered *Black Swan* a companion piece to his 2008 film *The Wrestler*, with both films involving demanding performances for different kinds of art. He and Portman first discussed the project in 2000, and after a brief attachment to Universal Studios, *Black Swan* was produced in New York City in 2009 by Fox Searchlight Pictures. Portman and Kunis trained in ballet for several months prior to filming, and notable figures from the ballet world helped with film production to shape the ballet presentation.

The film premiered as the opening film for the 67th Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2010. It had a limited release in the United States starting December 3, 2010 and opened in wide release on December 17. *Black Swan* received critical praise upon its release, particularly for Portman's performance and Aronofsky's direction, and was a surprise box office success, grossing $329 million worldwide. The film received five Academy Award nominations and Portman won Best Actress for the film, as well as many other Best Actress awards in several guilds and festivals. In addition, Aronofsky was nominated for Best Director and the film was nominated for Best Picture. It is the fifth horror film to be nominated in the Best Picture category, following *The Exorcist* in 1973, *Jaws* in 1975, *The Silence of the Lambs* in 1991, and *The Sixth Sense* in 1999.

## Plot

Nina Sayers is a dancer in a New York City ballet company, which is preparing to open its new season with Tchaikovsky's *Swan Lake*. With prima ballerina Beth Macintyre being forced into retirement, artistic director Thomas Leroy announces he is looking for a new dancer to portray the dual role of the innocent White Swan and the sensual Black Swan. Nina auditions for the role and gives a flawless performance as the White Swan, but fails to embody the Black Swan.

The following day, Nina asks Thomas to reconsider choosing her to play the role. When he forcibly kisses her, she bites him before running out of his office. Later that day, Nina sees the cast list and discovers, much to her surprise and that of her overprotective mother Erica, that she will be portraying the lead. At a gala celebrating the new season, an intoxicated Beth confronts Nina, accusing her of sleeping with Thomas to get the role. The following day, Nina discovers that Beth was hit by a car while walking in the street and that Thomas believes she did it on purpose.

During rehearsals, Thomas tells Nina to observe new dancer Lily, whom he describes as possessing an uninhibited quality that Nina is unable to show. Nina also falls victim to several hallucinations of a doppelgänger following her wherever she goes and finds unexplained scratch marks on her back. One night, Nina accepts Lily's invitation to dinner despite Erica's objections.

Over dinner, Lily offers Nina an ecstasy capsule to help her relax. Nina turns it down but later accepts a drink laced with ecstasy powder. The two dance at a nightclub and return to Nina's apartment late. After fighting with her mother, Nina barricades herself in her room and has sexual intercourse with Lily. The following morning, Nina wakes up alone and realizes she is late for the dress rehearsal. Upon arriving at Lincoln Center, she finds Lily dancing the Black Swan and learns that their encounter never took place.

After learning that Thomas has made Lily her alternate, Nina's hallucinations grow increasingly stronger to the point where Erica tries to prevent her from performing on opening night. Nina forces her way out of the apartment and arrives at Lincoln Center only to discover that Lily is set to take over. She confronts Thomas, who becomes impressed by her confidence that he allows her to perform.

During the end of the second act, Nina becomes distracted by a hallucination, causing her partner to drop her. She returns to her dressing room and finds Lily preparing to play the Black Swan. When Lily transforms into Nina's doppelgänger, the two engage in a fight that ends with Nina stabbing the doppelgänger with a shard of glass. She hides the corpse and returns to the stage, where she loses herself and gives a flawless performance as the Black Swan.

Nina receives a standing ovation from the audience and, after surprising Thomas with a passionate kiss, returns to her dressing room. While changing, Nina hears a knock at the door and opens it to find Lily congratulating her. Realizing the fight never occurred and that she stabbed herself, Nina quietly continues changing.

After dancing the final act, in which the White Swan commits suicide by throwing herself off a cliff, Nina falls onto a hidden mattress. As the theater erupts in thunderous applause, Thomas, Lily and the cast gather to congratulate Nina only to discover that she is bleeding profusely. Nina loses consciousness and presumably dies, but not before telling Thomas that her performance was perfect.

## Cast

During the closing credits, the major cast members were credited both as their film characters as well as their corresponding characters from *Swan Lake*.

* Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers / The Swan Queen
* Mila Kunis as Lily / The Black Swan
* Vincent Cassel as Thomas Leroy / The Gentleman
* Barbara Hershey as Erica Sayers / The Queen
* Winona Ryder as Elizabeth "Beth" MacIntyre / The Dying Swan
* Benjamin Millepied as David Moreau / The Prince
* Ksenia Solo as Veronica / Little Swan
* Kristina Anapau as Galina / Little Swan
* Janet Montgomery as Madeline / Little Swan
* Sebastian Stan as Andrew / Suitor
* Toby Hemingway as Thomas "Tom" / Suitor