A committed dancer struggles to maintain her sanity after winning the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake".

Director:

Darren Aronofsky

Writers:

Mark Heyman (screenplay), Andres Heinz (screenplay) (as Andrés Heinz) | 2 more credits »
Popularity
381 ( 7)
Won 1 Oscar. Another 96 wins & 279 nominations. See more awards »

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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 Torrado ... Sergio / Rothbart
Mark Margolis ... Mr. Fithian / Patron
Tina Sloan ... Mrs. Fithian / Patron
Abraham Aronofsky ... Mr. Stein / Patron (as Abe Aronofsky)
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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. Written by Fox Searchlight Pictures

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

I just want to be perfect.

Genres:

Drama | Thriller

Certificate:

R16 | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Days before the DVD/Blu-Ray release, director Darren Aronofsky counteracted accusations made by dancer Sarah Lane, in which she claimed Natalie Portman got credit for her dancing in the film, stating "I am responding to this to put this to rest and to defend my actor. Natalie sweated long and hard to deliver a great physical and emotional performance. And I don't want anyone to think that's not her they are watching. It is." Co-star Mila Kunis also counteracted Lane's comments, "Lane wasn't used for everything. It was more like a safety net. If Natalie wasn't able to do something, you'd have a safety net. The same thing that I had - I had a double as a safety net. We all did. No one ever denied it." See more »

Goofs

When Nina returns home and looks for her mother, after being assigned a role, a camera operator is visible in a mirror. See more »

Quotes

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

Many cast members are credited both as their role in this film and said character's corresponding role in the Swan Lake ballet See more »

Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 20 Psychological Thrillers (2020) See more »

Soundtracks

Outside the Lines
Written by Praveen Sharma and Travis Stewart
Performed by Sepalcure (featuring Angelica Bess)
Courtesy of Hotflush Recordings
Contains "Swan Lake" written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
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User Reviews

 
An epic and nightmarish delight
3 December 2010 | by Samiam3See all my reviews

Natalie Portman lives a dream and a nightmare when she gets a chance to dance Swan Lake in Darren Aronofsky's new film

Black Swan is a very bi polarized film. Portman dances as the white swan flawlessly, but her 'brilliant' choreographer has doubts about her as the black swan. She needs to 'live a little' and be less mannered, but the closer she gets to that point, the more the walls start to close in all around her.

Darren Aronofsky, though he comes close to being heavy handed, has delivered a project which is fiery, spectacular and clever. He sells us ballet as something dark and off putting, starting from his decision to reveal what dancing does to peoples bodies. One mistake and you can crack a toe nail under your body weight, but I don't wanna oversell it. To look at Black Swan in another way, it is an operatic horror film, It has incredible style, but uses it not so much to dazzle but to confuse and intimidate. The paradox of Black swan is that it creepiness is kind of seductive, because it draws you in (much like the way vampires are supposedly romantic)

But style is only half the picture (not even). The rest is in the cast, and mostly in Natalie Portman. She is slow to get started, but she grows quickly and the result is arguably her best performance yet. I've never loved her that much. She's always struck me as more of a girl than a woman, but I guess all she needs is to get a little blood on her hands, and you have an award worthy performance. Vincent Cassel, though he gets some questionable lines, is also at his best. I would have almost liked to see more of him, because you get the sense that his role has a bit more room to grow.

Black Swan does quite a bit, but it's not for everyone. Do not go into this expecting to be emotionally enriched. From the beginning, it is staged to be a mind-twirl, delighting in playing tricks on the audience. Some might call it cheating, but that would be the wrong way to look at Black Swan. It's quite epic, and with year coming to an end, I think it's fair to say that it is among the best of 2010.


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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Italian

Release Date:

17 December 2010 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

El cisne negro See more »

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Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,443,809, 5 December 2010

Gross USA:

$106,954,678

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$329,398,046
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Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Dolby | DTS | SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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