A Summary and Review of Black Swan

Black Swan was one of the most compelling films of 2011. Starring Natalie Portman (who won the Academy Award for Best Actress), Mila Kunis (nominated for a Golden Globe) and Vincent Cassel, the psychological movie takes you much further into the twisted mind of Nina Sayers (Portman) in her pursuit to be the Prima Ballerina in her ballet company’s production of Swan Lake.

The story of the ballet Swan Lake is as follows: the pure and perfect White Swan (Odette) falls in love with a prince, but makes a deal with a sorcerer who turns her into a swan. Her prince falls in love with the Black Swan (Odile, Odette’s evil twin who represents sensuality and sin), and Odette kills herself.

The movie follows Nina’s descent into madness as she transforms from the White Swan, Princess Odette, to the Black Swan, Odile. Nina struggles between finding the balance between perfection and passion. Her ballet teacher Thomas Leroy (Cassel) tries to help her find the balance to be the perfect dancer in his production of Black Swan to save the dance company after he replaces Beth MacIntire (Winona Ryder) with Nina. He tempts her and pushes her over the edge. Kunis plays Lily, Nina’s dance rival, who channels more Odile than Odette and brings out the Black Swan in Nina.

The end of the movie is predictable, but the whole unraveling of the plot makes you want to see the movie more than once. It is difficult to distinguish between reality and what is going on in Nina’s head. The only person that knows the truth is her mother, who fears for Nina’s life as she descends into insanity. There are scenes of self-mutilation where Nina scratches or hurts herself, and she becomes increasingly more hurtful to herself as she becomes more like the Black Swan. Ultimately, the role of the Black Swan destroys Nina. The way the plot unravels is definitely something worth seeing.

Portman won many awards including a SAG Award, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award for her role. The film was also nominated for Best Motion Picture for many large awards, and Darren Aronofsky also was nominated for Best Director. Aside from all of the critic praise, Black Swan is a fantastic movie that should definitely be seen. Portman trained for years to get to be in dancer shape, as did Kunis. It was nice to see Kunis out of her traditional role (as the carefree distraction circa Forgetting Sarah Marshall). The casting was great, and it complimented a great story with great direction.