Black Swan (2010)

A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odile, the Black Swan.

Director:

Darren Aronofsky

Writers:

Mark Heyman (screenplay), Andres Heinz (screenplay),

Stars:

Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel

Top 250 #187 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 57 wins & 124 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Natalie Portman	...	Nina Sayers / The Swan Queen
Mila Kunis	...	Lily / The Black Swan
Vincent Cassel	...	Thomas Leroy / The Gentleman
Barbara Hershey	...	Erica Sayers / The Queen
Winona Ryder	...	Beth Macintyre / The Dying Swan
Benjamin Millepied	...	David / The Prince
Ksenia Solo	...	Veronica / Little Swan
Kristina Anapau	...	Galina / Little Swan
Janet Montgomery	...	Madeline / Little Swan
Sebastian Stan	...	Andrew / Suitor
Toby Hemingway	...	Tom / Suitor
Sergio Torrado	...	Sergio / Rothbart
Mark Margolis	...	Mr. Fithian / Patron
Tina Sloan	...	Mrs. Fithian / Patron
Abraham Aronofsky	...	Mr. Stein / Patron (as Abe Aronofsky)

Storyline

Nina (Portman) is a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her obsessive former ballerina mother Erica (Hershey) who exerts a suffocating control over her. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side - a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.

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Plot Keywords:

ballerina | dancer | swan lake | ballet | dance | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content, disturbing violent images, language and some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Italian

Release Date:

17 December 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

El cisne negro

Filming Locations:

Bowling Green, Lower Manhattan, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£2,762,429 (UK) (21 January 2011)

Gross:

$106,952,327 (USA) (29 April 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Cross Creek Pictures, Protozoa Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Darren Aronofsky:  [following]  The camera follows Nina from behind when she leaves the subway and goes to the ballet studio.

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Goofs

When Nina returns home after finding out she has won the role of Swan Queen, she stands at her front door to go in. She is wearing her white scarf around her neck. She then puts her key in the lock and other hand on the door knob as she walks through the door to the other side, her hands are still on the door but her scarf is now over her arm.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Nina Sayers: I had the craziest dream last night. I was dancing the White Swan.

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: Review of 2011 (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Dark Sygnet"
Written by Jermaine Troy Jacob
Performed by Jakes
Contains "Swan Lake" written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

User Reviews

The Good and The Bad

I was very lucky to snag tickets to see Black Swan at the the Toronto International Film Festival.

THE GOOD: Natalie Portman's acting was perfection - definitely an Oscar worthy performance. Mila Kunis's performance was surprising in a good way, it is clear that she stepped out of her comfort zone. The film's musical score was superb. Of course, much of it was taken from 'Swan Lake', but I loved that they were able to incorporate that music throughout the entire film and not just in the ballet scenes. Of course, it was beautifully shot and the plot was riveting - I was drawn in from beginning to end. The audience saw a new side of ballet/ theatre that is not often shown in popular films - the struggle the performer faces in committing to and perfecting a role. The struggle between 'good' vs. 'evil' was presented in a methodical and intriguing way.

THE BAD: Many parts of this film felt like it belonged in the horror Genre. Some parts definitely made me jump or cringe (which I was not expecting). The film was also an emotional roller-coaster, which was fine at first, but This 'emotional roller-coaster' sort of dragged on to the point that it almost felt like it was too much. I just feel that it could have been tuned down a notch.

Overall, I thought that most of the film was wonderful, and I highly recommend it.