Black Swan (2010)

Directed by

Darren Aronofsky

Genre

drama film, horror film, psychological horror fiction, thriller film, LGBTQ-related film, magic realist film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 48m

Rated

R

Rating

7.7 of 10 from 15,655 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A dedicated ballerina lands the lead role in a production of Swan Lake. She becomes consumed by the pressure to embody both the innocent White Swan and the seductive Black Swan, and her grip on reality starts to unravel.

tenseanxiousclaustrophobicdreamlikeunsettlingintensevisceralparanoid

What happens

Black Swan is a 2010 American psychological horror thriller film directed by Darren Aronofsky, from a screenplay by Mark Heyman, John McLaughlin, and Andres Heinz, and based on a story by Heinz. Starring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, and Winona Ryder, the film follows a production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake by the company of New York City Ballet, led by Artistic Director Thomas Leroy (Cassel). The production requires a ballerina to play the innocent and fragile White Swan, for which the committed dancer Nina Sayers (Portman) is a perfect fit, as well as the dark and sensual Black Swan, which are qualities better embodied by the new rival Lily (Kunis). Nina is overwhelmed by immense pressure when she finds herself competing for the role, causing her to lose her tenuous grip on reality and descend into madness. Aronofsky conceived the premise by connecting his viewings of a production of Swan Lake with an unrealized screenplay about understudies and the notion of being haunted by a double, similar to the folklore surrounding doppelgängers. Aronofsky cites Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Double as another inspiration for the film. Aronofsky also considered Black Swan a companion piece to his film The Wrestler (2008), with both films revolving around demanding performances for different kinds of art. He and Portman first discussed the project in 2000, and after a brief attachment to Universal Pictures, Black Swan was produced in New York City in late 2009 by Fox Searchlight Pictures. Portman and Kunis trained in ballet for several months prior to filming. Black Swan premiered at the 67th Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2010, and had a limited release in the United States starting on December 3, before opening in wide release on December 17. Upon release, the film received widespread acclaim from critics, with praise toward Aronofsky's direction and the performances of Portman, Kunis, and Hershey. It also emerged as a major commercial success at the box office, grossing $332.1 million worldwide on a $13 million budget. The film received five nominations at the 83rd Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Aronofsky, with Portman winning Best Actress; it also received four nominations at the 68th Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director for Aronofsky, with Portman winning Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. In 2021, Portman's performance was included in The New Yorker's list of the best film performances of the 21st century. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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