Black Swan: Dancing With Psychoses

Black Swan was one of the most acclaimed films of 2010. The lead role was played by Natalia Portman, who won the Oscar for Best Actress. The film also caused a great deal of controversy because another dancer played much of the role of Portman. She claimed she did not deserve an Oscar because Portman was not the one who danced most of the time. The director, Darren Aronofsky, applauded Portman’s work and said that the role’s “double” only replaced her during the most difficult scenes.

The film Black Swan gives us ballet on the big screen. It is a psychological thriller based on Swan Lake. Natalie Portman excels because her role is much more than just playing a simple dancer. She plays a complex character with mental disorders that become more and more apparent as the ballet’s opening day approaches.

Portman’s efforts are astounding, and she is absolutely convincing. She captures us from the first moment of the film. Let’s not forget that the actor graduated with a degree in psychology from Harvard University. The knowledge she most likely possesses helped her prepare for the role.

The plot of Black Swan

The plot is about Nina, a young dancer who lives with her mother and works for a ballet company. The company wants to open the season with a renewed version of Svanesjøen. Nina wants to get the role. She is a very disciplined, methodical and demanding dancer, but the character requires a wild and free side. The film goes hand in hand with the ballet, and masterfully depicts the main character’s personality and her trials and tribulations.

Music, photography and dance stand out from the beginning. They attract the viewer’s attention and envelop us in a unique atmosphere of excitement that builds up to the film’s brilliant finale.

To discover Nina

We discover Nina’s personality as the action unfolds. Her mother was also a dancer, but she did not achieve the success of her daughter. Her mother left everything to take care of her daughter. We do not learn anything about Nina’s father. All we know is that Nina’s mother raised her alone and is extremely protective.

Nina doesn’t really have any friends. She only works with her ballet colleagues. The only thing that matters in her life is dance. Her bedroom is a very childish place because it is painted in pastel colors and decorated with countless stuffed animals. It can easily be confused with a little girl’s room, someone who has not grown up yet. This room is a reflection of Nina’s world. She is a very dependent young woman. Her mother has controlled her, and she has not yet reached maturity.

Her mother was the one who instilled the passion for ballet in her. She has also possibly projected her own frustrations on Nina. Her mother also realizes that she has never achieved anything or achieved it so far in her life. This ultimately creates a conflict between the two.

Nina’s story

Nina has never been disobedient to her mother. She has always lived an extremely controlled life and has never had the opportunity to decide anything for herself. Because of this, she has developed a complicated personality. She takes her frustrations and inadequacies to heart. She hurts herself and makes herself vomit. Her mother knows that Nina has these problems. In fact, she tries to control the wounds on Nina’s back by cutting her nails so she can not continue to scratch herself, and she monitors how much time Nina spends in the bathroom.

Nina did not have a happy childhood, and she has not had a healthy development. Her mother has overprotected her and has vented her frustrations on her daughter. All of this has made Nina an emotionally unstable person. This instability reaches its peak when the ballet company gives her a role that makes Nina’s personality unfold. Nina is obsessed with perfection and will do anything to achieve it, even at the expense of her health.

Black Swan , a dangerous dance

Swan Lake tells the story of Odette, a princess who was turned into a white swan with a magic formula. To break the spell, she needs love from a prince. This love ultimately fails because a rival mixes in: the black swan. Nina’s company decides to reshape the story a bit, and both swan roles fall on the same person.

Nina seems to fit perfectly in the role of the white swan, but not in the black swan. She lacks spontaneity and is too disciplined to be the black swan. As in Tchaikovsky’s world, Nina has a rival, Lily. She is one of the company’s dancers, an undisciplined and carefree young woman who fits perfectly into the black swan role. From this moment, Nina’s personality is destabilized and she begins to become obsessed with her rival. This sheds light on her most unstable and dark side.

When we enter the ballet and meet the main characters, Nina’s personality begins to split. She is unable to recognize herself or distinguish between the real world and a dream world.

Mirrors play an important role in the film. They present the distortions that Nina experiences. They show us how confused she is in the film’s most critical moments. In this film, mirrors are powerfully symbolic. Both swans live in Nina, and they are not able to achieve balance, a harmony.

Nina lacks a father figure and her mother is completely in control. It is clear that there are many gaps in her fragile personality. The new rival and the search for the dark side that the black swan role requires, makes Nina show the first symptoms of psychosis. Nina engages in an internal battle with the two swans that live in her while her relationship with her mother and surroundings becomes increasingly difficult.

The other side of ballet

In addition to the demands of the role and her rivalry with Lily, Nina has to face a less friendly facet of ballet and its world. She had never had such an important role, and as a consequence she was not aware of the darkness that surrounded her. One night out with Lily, we see that Nina does not know anything about nightlife and drugs. She has never been exposed to these situations and has always been under her mother’s protection. Nina has not learned to control herself. She is unable to decide for herself or know what is best for her.

On the other hand, we see that the relationships within the company are not completely healthy either. The dancers are replaced when they reach a certain age. There is always rivalry between the dancers when it comes to a new role. In addition, the most powerful men, such as the company’s director, can abuse and pressure the dancers. This is something that reminds us of the Me Too movement that is taking place in the cinema world today.

Nina’s character is also quite similar to Norman Bates, the main character of Psychosis, especially because of her relationship with her mother. The overprotection and darkness of the entertainment world leads Nina to imbalance, instability and self-destruction.

Black Swan is a reflection of psychosis in the ballet world. It is a dangerous search for perfection, the perfection that we admire as spectators. We are overwhelmed as an audience when we see a work of art, but we are completely unaware of which way the artists have gone to get where they are. The result is perfect, but the road was most likely full of thorns.