Directed by Darren Aronofsky, based on a screeplay by Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz and John McLaughlin ‘Black Swan’ is a psychological thriller-drama from a story written by Heinz.

Unwittingly I seem to have the knack of picking movies that blur the line between reality and illusion, in this case hallucination and I have done so in this case. Black swan features Natalie Portman in an Oscar winning performance ably supported by Vincent Cassel, Mila Kurtis, Barbara Hershey and Winona Ryder in a story about the effects of unbridled ambition, obsession, fierce rivaly and jealousy on a promising career.

The plot in the backdrop of New York City Ballet where a ballet dancer Nina Sayers is doing all she can and more to ensure she has bagged the lead role in the of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Swan Lake’.

The plot of Swan Lake which is entwined with the plot of the movie, is about an evil black swan that steals the love of a prince from a pure and innocent white swan, resulting in tragedy. The challenge of the lead dancer in the ballet is that she must be a master of playing both the innocent white swan and the alluring and pure black swan.

Nina an aspiring dancer in the ballet lives with her mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) in New York city. Erica is a doting mother, but oftentimes, her protective and caring emotions have smothering effect on her daughter.

Nina is obsessed with playing the lead in Swan Lake. To accomplish this, she must convince the demanding and perfectionist art director of the play, Thomas Leroy that she is up to the task. While sleeping, she dreams of herself performing as the Black Swan, but often, her dreams turn into a nightmare

Nina’s personality fits the persona of the innocent white swan while she is simply unable to get into the character of the seductive and evil black swan. For this, Leroy continuously admonishes her, saying that her performance is not just about going through the moves of the black swan, but to feel and release her ‘inner black swan’. His constant berating causes Nina undue stress. As a result, she bruises herself often during practice sessions, by pushing beyond her limits.

Nina meets Leroy privately where she tries to convince him that she can play the part. Leroy makes sexual advances on her, and in response she bites him and leaves. However, she is shocked to learn that she has won the part to play the Black Swan. She would soon realize that her troubles are far from over.

Nina is aware that Leroy may still dump he,r if he feels that she is not up to the task. This is proven when he replaces her, Nina with Elizabeth MacIntyre(Winona Ryder), the former lead ballerina of ‘Swan Lake’. An inebriated Elizabeth confronts Nina when at a party where Leroy announces his decision and accuses the latter of sleeping with Leroy. That very night, Elizabeth’s career as a dancer ends when she is hit by a car, apparently attempting to kill herself.

Nina soon faces her next obstacle. A new dancer, Lily (Mila Kunis) joins the ballet troop. Lily is similar to Nina in appearance. Leroy suggests to Nina, that she must observe Lily to learn how to get into character. A tense and fearful Nina soon learns that Lily is her stand in, who will take on the lead, in case Nina cannot perform in the ballet.

With mounting pressure, Nina continues to push the limits with intense workouts, causing herself more injuries. On one occasion, Lily visits Nina at home and suggest a ‘girls night out’ that Nina accepts, ignoring the protests of her over-protective mother.

The night turns into a wild ride, and Nina experiments with ecstasy and more. Nina is now at a stage where she cannot separate reality from her hallucinations and soon it will be opening night. Can Nina pull off her life’s ambition despite her challenges and what will it cost her?

Black Swan is a riveting thriller with visually alluring scenes of the ballet school, spectacular scenes of the ballet being performed at Lincoln Center and alluring imagery in scenes where Nina is hallucinating.

Natalie Portman gives an outstanding performance with her intense Nina, fighting her many internal battles. She has to win the confidence of Leroy, break into the role of Black Swan, and break free of her own subdued persona. There is also a part of her that is fighting to break away from her controlling mother, and explore the wild side.

While Natalie Portman’s performance stole all the accolades from the critics, there is much to be said about Cassel’s portrayal of his character Leroy. Leroy is certainly one of the most unique characters to occupy the screen. He is a perfectionist who cares about the quality of his production of ‘Swan Lake’ above all.

His obsession with the ballet is fused with his own base sexual desires that he is not able to uncouple the two. When Nina bites him the first time he makes advances on her, he seems to finally realize that she has the chops to play the black swan and gives her the lead role.

While practicing, Leroy sexually arouses Nina. However, Nina soon realizes that Leroy’s intent is to bring out her black swan, rather than seduce her. Black Swan is a superb movie which offers so much in its multi-layered plot, captivating visuals and outstanding acting performances. In addition to Portman’s award winning role for best actress, the film was nominated for best movie, best direction, best cinematography and best editing at the Academy awards.

Musings and Spoilers

‘Black Swan’ the title, is more that the swan character in the ballet. Nina’s character is a contradiction. While outwardly, she is the vulnerable and unassuming white swan, does all she can to suppress her inner black swan, the part of her that wants to live dangerously and explore her desires. perhaps unconsciously. It is perhaps her suppression of these inner wantings and coupled with her obsessions that cause her hallucinations and ultimately becomes the black swan.

She does not realize that she, not Lily her peer, is her own black swan. Unofrtunately for her, there is only one way to resolve conflict between her two conflicting swans. This to release her black swan which is going to help her achieve her most coveted goal. This will cost her dearly.