The Black Swan

This film centres on Nina a young eager and ambitious ballet dancer. She goes to great lengths to land her dream role, the Swan Queen.  This role will involve her having to merge the white swan into black. The white swan signifies purity and the black is a temptress. She is so fixated with being perfect that she tries to control every outcome.  She has obsessive tendencies: she has regular hallucinations, self harms and is anorexic. The entire story line centres on her work; nowhere does it show that she has other interests outside ballet. Her bedroom is very childlike and she is the centre of her Mother’s universe. Her Mother wraps her in cotton wool and thus keeps a very close eye on her daughter’s activities. Her Mother gave up her career for Nina. Nina does not appreciate this fact or her overbearing presence in her life.  Nina is very easily manipulated and does what she is told to do/act. Her dance routine is painful and gruelling. Thoma, her French dance Teacher, uses his position of power and influence to become the “Ring Master”. He tells her to perform sexual acts and Nina while coming across as prudish, wants to please him so she does as she is instructed. She does not have a mind of her own. She is not a girl with strong convictions.  In life she is the white swan but trying to change so that life can imitate art. Pressure is mounting as all eyes will be on her. Lily, a new girl to the company could be described as Nina’s alter ego. Nina always wears pastel coloured clothes and Lily wares dark clothes. Is this a sign of their inner personalities? Lily is the more promiscuous of the two. On a night out, Nina is chatting with Andrew. Andrew says “you never told me who you were” Nina replies “I am a dancer” to which Andrew says” No, your name!” Nina sees her profession as an integral part of herself; it is part of her character. Lily makes sexual advances on Nina. Nina’s Mother gets aggressive when told of the night’s transgressions. Is any of what we are viewing real? Are we just in the mind of a delusional girl? It transpires that Lily never went back to Nina’s house. This was again part of Nina’s imagination. Nina is very paranoid when Lily is selected as a back-up. During the début of the performance Nina imagines that she takes the physical form of the black swan. She “murders” Lily using a piece of broken mirror, the film ends with Nina’s perfect performance. Just like Swan Lake is meant to end, Nina is dying because she stabbed herself using the mirror. She is one crazy chick...no pun intended!