Directed by Darren Aronofsky (also known for The Wrestler, the 1998 movie, Pi, and the 2006 movie, The Fountain), Black Swan is impeccably directed drawing the audience into Nina's struggle to face and even embrace her dark side. This 2010 movie starring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel and Mila Kunis, is an intense psychological thriller that has a very surprise ending.
Review of Cast of Characters and Plot in the 2010 Movie Black Swan
Natalie Portman stars in this psychological thriller, earning an Oscar award for her role as a Swan Queen ballerina Nina Sayers. Nina lands the lead role only after begging the troupe director, Thomas Leroy (played by French actor Vincent Cassel of the 2002 movie, Irreversable) and showing him a hint of her potential to be the Black Swan as well as the White Swan.
Lily, played by Mila Kunis (T.V. series That 70's Show, and 2010 movie Book of Eli), is Nina's competition. Kunis plays an adequate antagonist, expediting Nina's transformation. The other antagonist, helping Nina's push towards facing the dark side of her psyche, is Nina's mother, Erica Sayers (played by Barbara Hershey of the 1993 movie, Falling Down).
Black Swan is mildly reminiscent of Terry Gilliam's 1985 movie, Brazil, where the main character loses a sense of reality and fantasy. The directing is certainly similar, where the audience is hard-pressed to figure out which scenes are reality and which are fantasy. Nina is losing her mind during the transformation into the Black Swan, during her courageous confrontations with her inner demons.
Psychological Lessons Learned in Director Darren Aronofsky's Movie, Black Swan
The dark side of the psyche was repressed even more so in Nina's character than in most of us. Her inner black swan had more of an uphill climb to break out of its shell. Nina Sayer's character was very prim, virginal, obsessive with technique and perfection, and obedient.
The dark side of the psyche is not always the "bad" character traits. The troupe director, Thomas Leroy, draws Nina out, encouraging her to let go of her inhibitions both sexually and of her obsession with perfection. Leroy sees a different kind of perfection in release -- a more well-rounded perfection, as he explains.
Overcoming jealousy, paranoia and obsession with perfection are only some of the inner demons that Nina has to face. In order to fully embrace the dark side, this black swan, Nina has to fully rebel against her mother and find her own sense of identity.
Here is a list of the psychological themes and turmoil that Nina faces in Black Swan:
- Obsession
- Jealousy
- Perfectionism
- Rebellion
- Paranoia
- Self-esteem
- Emerging sexuality, physical pleasure
- Ambition
Black Swan covers a lot of psychological ground in just one movie, but does it skillfully with an appropriate context (Nina the virginal and ambitious ballerina). The ending is an unpleasant shock, but a necessary one that gives oomph and closure to the movie. This movie is very gratifying, unpredictable, entertaining as a psychological thriller, and a must see -- more than once.
Black Swan the movie:
Running Time: 1 hr. 48 min.s
Rating: R
Release Date: December 17, 2010
by Fox Searchlight
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