Black Swan (film)
Black Swan is a 2010 American psychological horror film directed by Darren Aronofsky from a screenplay by Mark Heyman, John McLaughlin, and Andres Heinz, based on a story by Heinz. The film stars Natalie Portman in the lead role, with Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, and Winona Ryder in supporting roles. The plot revolves around a production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake by the company of New York City Ballet. The production requires a ballerina to play the innocent and fragile White Swan, for which the committed dancer Nina Sayers (Portman) is a perfect fit, as well as the dark and sensual Black Swan, which are qualities better embodied by the new rival Lily (Kunis). Nina is overwhelmed by a feeling of immense pressure when she finds herself competing for the role, causing her to lose her tenuous grip on reality and descend into madness.
Not to be confused with the 1942 swashbuckler film The Black Swan (film) or Black swan theory.Black Swan
- Mark Heyman
- Andres Heinz
- John McLaughlin
Andres Heinz
- Mike Medavoy
- Arnold W. Messer
- Brian Oliver
- Scott Franklin
- September 1, 2010 (Venice)
- December 3, 2010 (United States)
108 minutes[1]
United States
English
$13 million[2]
$329.3 million[3]
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 Dostoevsky's The Double as another inspiration for the film. The director also considered Black Swan a companion piece to his film The Wrestler (2008), with both films revolving around demanding performances for different kinds of art. He and Portman first discussed the project in 2000, and after a brief attachment to Universal Pictures, 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.
Black Swan premiered at the 67th Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2010, and had a limited release in the United States starting on December 3, before opening in wide release on December 17. Upon release, the film received widespread critical acclaim, with high praise toward Aronofsky's direction and the performances of Portman, Kunis, and Hershey. It also emerged as a major commercial success at the box-office, grossing $329 million worldwide on a $13 million budget. The film received five nominations at the 83rd Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director (Aronofsky), with Portman winning Best Actress; it also received four nominations at the 68th Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director (Aronofsky), with Portman winning Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. In 2021, Portman's performance was included in The New Yorker's list of the best film performances of the 21st century.[4]
Plot[edit]
Nina Sayers, a young dancer with the company of New York City Ballet, lives with her overprotective mother, Erica, herself a former ballerina. The company is opening the season with Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. After forcing prima ballerina Elizabeth "Beth" MacIntyre into retirement, artistic director Thomas Leroy announces he is looking for a new dancer for the dual roles of the innocent, fragile White Swan Odette and the sensual, dark Black Swan Odile. Nina auditions for the roles and gives a flawless dance as Odette, but fails to embody Odile.
The next day, Nina asks Thomas to reconsider but when he forcibly kisses her, she bites him and runs out of his office. Later that day, Nina sees the cast list and learns to her surprise she has received the lead role. At a gala celebrating the new season, an intoxicated Beth accuses Nina of providing sexual favors to Thomas in return for a promotion. The next day, Nina hears Beth was hit by a car; Thomas believes she was attempting suicide. Nina visits an unconscious Beth in the hospital and is distraught to see her critically injured legs, meaning Beth will no longer be able to perform as a dancer.
During rehearsals, Thomas tells Nina to observe a newcomer, Lily, who has a physical resemblance to Nina but also an uninhibited quality Nina lacks. Nina has hallucinations and finds scratch marks on her back. One night, despite Erica's objection, Nina accepts Lily's invitation to go out for drinks. Lily offers Nina an ecstasy capsule, saying it would help her relax. Nina turns it down at first but then accepts. She repeats Lily's assurance that the effects will only last for a few hours, and quickly begins to act under the ecstasy's influence. Nina flirts with men at the bar and Lily as well. After the two dance at a nightclub, they go back to the apartment, where Lily seduces Nina. The next morning, she wakes up and realizes that she is late for the dress rehearsal.
Arriving at Lincoln Center, Nina sees Lily dancing as Odile and confronts her about their night together. Lily seems confused by Nina's insinuation that they slept together and denies going home with Nina, saying she went home with one of the men from the bar. Nina becomes convinced Lily intends to take her place, especially after learning that Thomas has made Lily her alternate. Nina's hallucinations grow stronger and her injuries increase, going as far as hallucinating herself transforming into Odile. On opening night, Nina berates her mother for calling the theatre and telling them she was not well enough to perform, worried that the role might be too much for her. When Nina arrives late, Lily is prepared to replace her, but Nina convinces Thomas to allow her to take back her role.
Towards the end of the ballet's second act, Nina is distracted by another hallucination and loses her stability as Odette. This causes the male dancer playing the prince to drop her on stage, which infuriates Thomas. She returns to her dressing room and finds Lily preparing as Odile. During a confrontation, Lily transforms into Nina. The two fight, breaking a mirror. Nina stabs her doppelgänger with a large shard of glass from the mirror, killing her. The body reverts to Lily. Nina hides the corpse in the bathroom and takes the stage, dancing flawlessly as Odile and seemingly turns into a black swan, her arms covered in feathers. Amidst a standing ovation from the audience, Nina surprises Thomas with a passionate kiss and returns to her dressing room.
As Nina resumes the Odette tutu and white swan makeup, she hears a knock at her door. She opens it to find Lily alive, who apologizes for the misunderstanding and congratulates Nina before taking her leave. Confused, Nina sees the mirror is still broken, and the towel she used to mop up the blood is clean with no corpse in the bathroom. She looks down and pulls a piece of glass from her abdomen, realizing she had stabbed herself instead. Nina dances the final act of the ballet, which ends with Odette throwing herself off a cliff and Nina landing on a mattress. The theatre erupts in thunderous applause while Thomas, Lily, and the others gather to congratulate Nina, who remains lying on the mattress. Thomas sees the blood spreading at her waist and shouts for help. He frantically asks Nina what happened to her, to which she calmly replies: "I felt it. It was perfect" as the screen fades to white.
During the closing credits, the major cast members are credited both as their film characters as well as their corresponding characters from Swan Lake.
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Black Swan had a limited release in select cities in North America on December 3, 2010, in 18 theaters[49] and was a surprise box office success.[50] The film took in a total of $415,822 on its opening day, averaging $23,101 per theater.[51] By the end of its opening weekend it grossed $1,443,809—$80,212 per theater. The per location average was the second highest for the opening weekend of 2010 behind The King's Speech.[52] The film is Fox Searchlight Pictures' highest per-theater average gross ever, and it ranks 21st on the all-time list.[53] On its second weekend the film expanded to 90 theaters, and grossed $3.3 million, ranking it as the sixth film at the box-office.[54] In its third weekend, it expanded again to 959 theaters and grossed $8,383,479. The film went on to gross over $106 million in the United States and over $329 million worldwide.[3]