Black Swan

Creepy. Disturbing. Erratic. Haunting. A few words that spring to mind. It is also a Media Studies' student's dream, what with its heavy and clever use of cinematography, themes and symbolism.

Natalie Portman's awkward Nina is vying for the lead role of 'Swan Lake' alongside Mila Kunis' more edgy Lily after the director, Vincent Cassel's Thomas, decides to dismiss his regular star, Winona Ryder's ageing artiste Beth, with the intention to replace her with somebody more young and fresh. How's that for a one sentence summary eh?

Thomas, who is a complete twat by the way, is torn between the two candidates - the chosen ballerina should be able to portray the dual role of the innocent white swan and the more seductive black swan, and whilst Nina's virginal demeanor is ideal as the former, Lily's sensuality is perfect for the latter (Kunis has a very Rachel 'Summer from The O.C.' Bilson vibe about her - thought I'd just share this observation with you folks). After a glimmer of potential from Nina, Thomas selects her for the coveted role, Lily naturally becomes her understudy. As Thomas urges Nina to discover her 'darker' side, she finds herself descending into a mad state of paranoia, delusion and hallucinations with devastating consequences.

The dual nature of black and white is the most prominent theme throughout the movie. Right from the onset Nina is troubled and tormented by her alter ego or twin, the 'darker' aspect of her personality. Nina envisions her 'darker' side in others - either as reflections or as they morph into her. Her mirror reflections begin to move separately - another way in which this 'darker' side of hers presents itself. Nina is supressed by her domineering and suffocating mother who treats her like a child, so much so that she even dresses her "sweet girl" and tucks her into bed at night. Nina's bedroom rings true as that of a little girl's, it is full of baby pink hues and sprinkled with a generous helping of soft toys, it seems as if she is inhibited, preserved as a girl, forbidden from transcending into womanhood. Nina is kept uncorrupted and 'white' due to her mother's controlling behaviour, this comes into conflict as sleazebag Thomas encourages her to eradicate her frigid disposition and experience her 'darker' side through sex, and furthermore as Lily introduces her to a world of alcohol, drugs and casual sex. These two states of being - black and white - clash and collide as Nina's mother desperately tries to maintain her hold on her sexually repressed daughter whilst Nina's 'darker' side unleashes itself through rebellion motivated by both Thomas and Lily.


Nina becomes increasingly paranoid that Lily is out to sabotage her performance in the hope to steal her role. Admittedly we are aware that Nina suffers from mental health issues which escalate as the pressure of performing does but despite this reality Lily is a difficult character to gauge - does she genuinely offer friendship to her rival or is it simply just a ploy to ruin her competition? Is Lily even real or just a figment of Nina's deranged mental state? We see Lily materialise one evening on Nina's doorstep, dragging her out to a club to unwind after a tough day's rehearsals. At first this seems like a friendly gesture. Nina is reluctant to stay out late but Lily is persistent, thrusting alcohol, drugs and men onto an apprehensive Nina - upon returning from the toilets Nina spies Lily spiking her drink at which point Lily's true intentions become apparent. Despite this Nina welcomes the spiked drink and the rest of the night is huge techno blur of flashing lights, resulting in Nina inviting Lily back home where they indulge in some lesbian action. The next morning Nina is late for practice and arrives at the studio to find that none other than Lily has replaced her for rehearsals. She blames Lily for not waking her in the morning, convinced that it was all a strategy on her understudy's part in order to make her miss rehearsals and so appear incompetent, uncommitted and undedicated in the eyes of Thomas, to which Lily reveals that she went home not with Nina but one of the men she met the previous night. It is not clear whether Lily is honest here or actually messing with Nina's mind but there is a lot that suggests Lily is altogether just Nina's alter ego in a 'Fight Club' kind of way, in which case Lily represents the 'darker' side of her, the side that is desperate to break free. At one point during the sex scene Nina finds herself staring back at her instead of Lily - as Lily looks up, it is her own face she sees in place of Lily's. Towards the end she stabs Lily who is dressed as the black swan, and yet again during the tussle Lily morphs into Nina, and although Nina believes she has murdered her adversary, it is eventually disclosed that in actuality she has in fact managed to stab herself. Convinced Lily is out to destroy her, Nina imagines Thomas and Lily embroiled in zealous sex, this of course is not the case, but perhaps here it is Nina whom is actually involved in the sexual activity ocurring, if indeed it is real, which it is not implied to be. Either way, it is Nina who harbours sexual feelings for Thomas, she thrives to make herself his "little princess". These three occasions indicate that like 'Fight Club' Lily may well be Nina's alter ego, everything she admires and wishes she could be herself but struggles to due to her smothered existence. This rings true in relation to the episode where Thomas presents Lily to Nina, highly regarding the passion and emotion she has for her art. Although Nina has perfected her technique, she is devoid of the fervor Lily exhibits, Lily is able to feel which is a quality Nina lacks, a quality she aims to garner. Therefore it is easy to understand exactly why Nina would envy Lily, she is what Nina would probably like to mould herself into, and thus she is possibly just the alter-ego she projects - the blend of character and personality she hungers to be.

As the movie progresses, Nina begins to embrace her 'darker' side to the extent where it accelerates in power and aggression. It feeds on all the negativity which stems as a result of Nina's stifled lifestyle. Soon enough Nina is able to pluck a black feather out of the rash (or rather scratching wounds that she inflicts upon herself) she is plagued with, her legs contort into the shape of a swan's, her eyes turn red, her feet become webbed, and as she confidently and passionately dances the Black Swan the final act of transformation takes place - she begins to sprout black feathers all over her body and her arms mutate into black wings - she has become the Black Swan. Or rather her 'darker' side has completely prevailed and triumphed. Makes absolute sense seeing as she has just eliminated the white swan aspect of her dual personality - the black swan conquers the white swan in order to excel and gain ultimate control.

This movie is littered with mirrors, in fact not a scene passes by without the presence of a mirror. Reflections serve to emphasise the dual nature at play whereas the mirrors themselves are also connected with the idea of appearance and reality - from the complicated character of Lily to Nina's hallucinations and gradual transformation, it is tough to distinguish whether what appears on the screen is actually real or not. The movie thrives on ambiguity. It is then rather fitting that the white swan is eradicated with a shard of glass from a broken mirror.

Another valid point is made via the washed-up and exhausted Beth, once Thomas' prime choice she is now disregarded in favour of a fledgling ballerina - the fickle and superficial world of entertainment it seems. As with all performing arts, we realise just how sad and lonely their existence is, what with nobody to call a true friend, having to question the motives of everybody you come across, people ready and willing to stab you in the back, nobody you can place your trust in - it seems the path to fame is a walk alone. You will find that none of the characters in 'Black Swan' appear to maintain any type of healthy relationship in their lives, any relationships they attempt to form are inconsistent and unstable. Attaining perfectionism is also a key trait of these entertainers, this along with the immense pressure to perform is what contributes to Nina's downfall. She is consumed with acquiring this perfection - "I just want to be perfect" she longs. Beth is on the opposite end of the spectrum now - " Perfect? I'm not perfect. I'm nothing" - we imagine that Beth too was once like Nina, idealistically yearning for this inaccessible perfection only to finally realise that it was never once in reach. Beth in a way represents Nina's fate, the fate of all entertainers even. Striving for perfection marks the beginning of Nina's breakdown. Such is her dedication to her art that she, unbeknownst to herself, commits suicide in order to 'feel' the moment, the death of the white swan is real, here we are presented with method acting on a whole new level. And as the audience break into a resounding applause and much acclaim in praise of her stunning performance, a dying Nina is surrounded by her cast and crew but according to her it seems her death is not in vain or at a cost too high, "I felt it. Perfect. I was perfect" - Nina is content because she achieved the perfection she sought even if it was only for the duration of one show.