Film Review: Black Swan (2010)

Fig. 1 Black Swan (2010) Film Poster

The story of Swan Lake is retold with a difference in Darren Aronofskys 2010 film Black Swan where ballet dancer Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) takes on the dual role of the white and black swans and must attempt to discover the portrayal of the black swan to match her perfection of its opposite. Black Swan takes on the idea of perfection versus imperfection with the swans playing the role of metaphor. They are symbolic of Ninas need to discover herself and realise what her way of being perfect is and how she doesnt need to be the stereotypical ballet image of perfection. Aronofsky takes this further with the use of characters who all have their faults/weaknesses whether its Beths (Winona Ryder) inability to carry on ballet or Ninas mother Ericas (Barbara Hershey) loss of her dream, and hypodermically injects the audience with the questionis there such a thing as perfection? In some way these characters live through Nina vicariously as in their eyes she seems the image of perfection getting everything she wants. This allows them escapism from their own lives especially Ninas mother who encircles Ninas life with a conspiracy of evil; making Ninas choices for her. In some way these characters fear the idea of Ninas perfection whereas, Nina fears her perfection being penetrated by her weaknesses. This is a movie about fear of penetration, fear of your body, fear of being supplanted in the affections of a powerful man, love of perfection, love of dance and perhaps most importantly of all, passionate and overwhelming hatred of your mother. (Bradshaw, 2011)

Fig. 2 Ninas mother and her conspiracy of evil

Aronofsky shows Nina however, to be the opposite to how she is perceived, through his structure of the film especially with camera angles and semiotics in colour. Black Swan is full of over the shoulder tracking shots which create the illusion of lack of oxygen and claustrophobia denoting Ninas struggle to breathe when in the black swans skin instead still embodying the white swan as well as the smothering Nina receives by her mother. The mass use of mirrors also seems to suggest this with the idea of Ninas black swan being trapped in some alternate universe when her mirror image responds differently. Ninas being is mirrored throughout the film with alternatives; an example of applying Claude Levi-Strauss theory on binary oppositions. Another example of this is Black Swans colour palette with black and white being symbolic of good and evil, Nina being well kept and clean in colour whereas her doppelganger free with her loose hair and dark coloured makeup and the dark lighting of Ninas claustrophobic scenes being replaced with a dreamlike air when she finally embodies the black swans character. Black Swan has extremely evident oppositions and a dreamlike/hallucinogenic emotion full of surrealism and madness, and where literalness is meant to be a mark of naivety and inexperience, something that children grow out of as they become adults; part of Black Swans genius is to remind us of how much more vivid and dramatic the world can be seen without the filter of metaphor (Sandhu, 2011) extremely evident when the soft pastels of pink and green like those used for baby belongings are replaced with deep reds and black to show maturity.

Fig. 3 The binary oppositions of Nina

For Nina to be an all-round performer it is implied that she has to be sexualised. The ideology of the exploration of your sexuality defining the stage between naivety and maturity is represented in Black Swan; Nina needs to open her eyes to the wider world and feel ballet rather than taking ballet as literal skill. However, it is interesting that it is not teacher Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) that sexualises Nina but Lily (Mila Kunis) who seems to embody Ninas doppelganger and is implicative of the perfect black swan through her imperfections. The appearance of Lily in

Ninas safe haven of her ballet seems to awaken her from her literal world and takes her on a fast track rollercoaster ride of the puberty and maturity that her mother deprived her from. Thomas Leroy is representative to the audience that the only way to find their full self is through discovery and growing up. He is the agent by which her delicate balance is disturbed through his insistence that she must discover her dark side by some form of physical and spiritual abandonment. (French, 2011) At the beginning of the film Nina is too fragile and nave to portray a mature, explorative character but after breaking out of her shell she grows in personality and emotion.

BibliographyBradshaw, P. (2011) guardian.co.uk http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jan/20/black-swan-review (Accessed by 15/10/11) Sandhu, S. (2011) telegraph.co.uk http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/8271984/Black-Swan-review.html (Accessed 15/10/11) French, P. (2011) The Guardian, The Observer http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jan/23/black-swan-natalie-portman-review (Accessed 15/10/11)

List of IllustrationsFig. 1. Black Swan (2010) Film Poster From: Black Swan Directed by: Darren Aronofsky. [film poster] On Online Movies Hut http://www.onlinemovieshut.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/black-swanmovie-poster.jpg (Accessed 15/10/11) Fig. 2. Ninas mother and her conspiracy of evil From: Black Swan Directed by: Darren Aronofsky. [film still] On Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/hermitosis/5960865845/sizes/o/in/photostream/ (Accessed 15/10/11) Fig. 3. The binary oppositions of Nina From: Black Swan Directed by: Darren Aronofsky. [film still] On totalfilm.com http://cdn.mos.totalfilm.com/images/t/the-story-behind-black-swan-03-470-75.jpg (Accessed 15/10/11)