Black Swan (Black Swan) Movie Analysis

Tag
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Duration: 1 hour 43 min
Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel The main character of the film Nina is an ambitious and perfectionist ballerina. He lives with his mother Erica. His father has not been seen during the film and no information about his father has been given. Nina wants to become the queen ballerina in the show, in which a single ballerina will also portray the pure, innocent white swan and the passionate sensual black swan. However, although Nina is perfect for the role of the white swan, she does not have the lust necessary for the role of the black swan. Nina is too perfectionist and kind of too controlled for the role of the black swan. In order to become a principal ballerina, she must be able to free herself; she must be able to take risks. In addition, to become a principal ballerina, she must be able to cope not only with herself but also with her competitors and her mother. 

Mother-Daughter Relationship 

From the beginning of the film, we see that Erica is a mother who is bossy and sees Nina as a little girl who depends on her mother. Nina's room is filled with toys just like a little girl's room. Her mother suppresses Nina and makes Nina be as she wants, depending on herself. Erica doesn't seem to want Nina to grow up and become independent. Nina and her mother's social lives and circles also seem to be quite low. Even in the house, even in the bathroom, Nina's mother is in control. Although Nina is very uncomfortable with her mother's attitude and pressures, she cannot make her voice out and feels anxious and guilty as soon as she gets out of her mother's control.

Relationship With Her Teacher

Another factor that triggers Nina's relationship with her teacher Thomas in the film is Thomas, who is the director of the show and her teacher. Thomas is aware that Nina is always controlling and strives for perfection. For this reason, he is reluctant to make Nina a queen ballerina. However, when Nina came to her room to ask her for the role, Nina's aggression was first seen when Nina bit her lip while kissing her, and she decided that she should give Nina a chance at the role. Nina's sexual attraction to Thomas and her closeness to him throughout the film was an important trigger for Nina's revelation of her alter identity (second identity) by freeing herself from the pressure on her with the discovery of her sexuality. With the selection of Nina for the role of the black swan, Nina's anxieties and hallucinations increase and her neuroses begin to appear as psychotic patterns of thought and behavior. For example, he begins to experience hallucinations and depersonalizations, such as when his finger bleeds.

Relationship With Lily

Nina's relationship with Lily is almost a white swan with her purity, innocence, and integration with perfection. Lily, on the other hand, is a sensual, natural ballerina who does not have any worries about perfection. Therefore, it is quite ideal for the role of a black swan. Nina's most important rival to become a queen ballerina is Lily.

Turning Point

As for the scene that is the turning point of the film, Nina had an argument with her mother and went out with Lily for the first time out of her control. While spending time with her, at Lily's suggestion, Nina used substances, which triggered a clear revelation of Nina's pathologies. Personality divisions are being triggered. 

In the following scenes, we see that Nina is now saying goodbye to the white swan and starting to reveal the black swan inside her. He's getting more and more aggressive. She doesn't want to be the pure and innocent white swan controlled by her mother. He starts throwing toys, locking his door, and physically harming his mother.

Nina had delusions such as plucking her back and bleeding her finger, as well as auditory hallucinations, such as talking pictures of her mother. The night when these hallucinations and delusions are most pronounced is the night before the show when he argues with his mother. Nina could see that her feet had turned into the feet of a swan, and that wing feathers had come out on her back.

Her mother, realizing that her role as the black swan was hurting Nina, tried to prevent her from going on the show and told Thomas that Nina would not go on the show. However, Nina had gone to the show, surpassing her mother. We see that fight scene, which is one of the reactionary scenes of the film when Nina hallucinates that the role has been given to Lily. Nina hides him, thinking that he killed Lily, and goes to the stage. When she comes on stage, we see that Nina made a mistake when performing the role of the white swan, which she identifies with, which she should have performed perfectly. Because Nina is no longer a white swan, she has become a black swan. When he Comes to his room between scenes, he realizes that he didn't actually kill Lily and that he actually hurt himself during the hallucination he saw. Nina thinks that she really turned into a black swan when performing the role of a black swan in the second act, and she considers herself a real black swan.  

Last Scene

In the last scene, the show ends with the white swan admitting that he was defeated by the black swan and committing suicide. With this symbolic expression, we can say that as a result of Nina's battle with the black swan in her inner world, the white swan inside her was defeated by the black swan. When he thought he killed Lily, he actually killed himself. The last sentence is ‘I felt it, it was perfect’. Thus, Nina lost her life on the stage she loved so much for the sake of achieving perfection and getting the role of the black swan.