'The Black Swan' (2010) Analysis

'Black Swan'

Black swan is a beautiful tragedy which follows a ballet dancer called Nina (played by Natalie Portman) on her journey as she is given the role of the Swan Queen. It is a difficult task to embody both the white swan, who is more innocent and pure in nature, and the black swan, who is more dark and sinister. This leading to her downfall as she loses herself completely and results to her tragic end. 

Darren Aronofsky did an incredible job with the making of this film as every element is cleverly used to aid the storyline and help it flow.

The colour palette is very interesting as it only really contains 5 predominant colours. This being black and white which represents the duality of the white and black swan, green which has links to envy. This is why we see lots of green in the mother’s house as she is envious that her daughter as able to be the Swan Queen and she never was able to as she gave up her life as a dancer to raise Nina. This could be why Erica is so controlling of Nina as she is trying to live her life through Nina. We also see lots of pink. 

This colour is heavily associated with Nina symbolising her child

 like innocence and perhaps her naivety. Her bedroom being pink and full of toys highlights that she has not grown up and matured. As the pink fades away from Nina we start to see more dark colours like greys and blacks representing her change from this young and innocent ballerina to this darker character who starts to take more control of her life but also start to embody the black swan.

Towards the final segment of the film we start to see an introduction of red in Nina’s colour palette. She is occasionally highlighted in red lighting and also starts to wear red lipstick. This could be Nina embracing the colour red as red is often seen as a lustful colour which is what Nina needs to embody for the black swan but also red has connotations of danger. 

This could perhaps be foreshadowing the danger this role has and her unfortunate and tragic end. The black and white swans’ monochrome colours throughout the film with production and costume cleverly highlights the contrast between Nina and Lily. The black and white colour scheme could also emphasis how Nina’s naivety and immature mind sees the world in an over simplified way and does not see the grey that surrounds her.

Lighting is cleverly used to show the duality of the black and white swan within Nina. My favourite example of this is the very first shot in the movie. It is a wide, establishing shot which shows a beautiful and elegant ballerina performing a dance number. A spotlight is shining on one half of her face making it seem white while the other side of her face is consumed by a shadow representing the darkness within which needs to be embraced to perform the black swan also. 

Nina’s former appearance is indicative of her innocent and naive mentality at the start of the film, this already causes the spectator to associate Nina with the white swan qualities of Odette. This does however, due to her purity, make the spectator wonder how this character will also embody the  black swan as she radiates an air of innocence and purity. 

There is a repeating motif of duality. As she finally perceives herself as both the Black Swan and the White Swan mentally and physically. To show this duality of the twins, lighting and cinematography create a visual aid in highlighting the transformation Nina tries to achieve throughout the film. 

Special effects and sets are also show the psychological setting in her mind. One scene in particular when Nina starts to grow wings is crucial in depicting Nina’s final metamorphosis into the Black Swan. This scene uses several techniques such as special effects, sound, mis-en scene and cinematography. The film uses a shot reverse shot to capture the audience point of view as well as Nina’s. The audience cannot see feathers and wings as they do not exist as the shot continues we are shown Nina’s bare hands. Through this camera choice the spectator can see the scene from both view points which juxtapose one another perfectly. It also highlights how this dance is so much more than a dance to Nina. The audience is also situated in dark lighting which could represent how they are in the dark about the struggle Nina has gone through as she tried to find the Black Swan within herself. This highlights her dedication. Also throughout the camera seems unbalanced which also adds to the feeling of uneasiness and tension in the film. 

Another scene I find the cinematography is brilliant is when Thomas is instructing Nina as she spins. The camera does a series of quick pans that alternate between Thomas and Nina. This shows the pressure Nina has and this causes her to unravel.

All the actors went through training for this film which was not easy as ballet is an extremely difficult sport and it takes years to perfect. Natalie Portman spent one year preparation of this role which consisted of training 7 days a week many hours of the day, as did Mila Kunis. Both of them giving one of the best performances of their career. Natalie Portman did receive the Best Actress Oscar for her role. All the actors dedication is evident in this film making it an even more incredible film to watch. 

Mirrors and refections are used throughout this film and are in the majority of shots in this film. These could symbolise how self critical Nina is of herself as she is constantly forced to look at herself and exposing her flaws. This is interesting as Nina is a perfectionist and is really terrified of seeing themselves. She is also mirrored by other characters each representing a different part of her psyche. Lily is the Black Swan and Erica is the force that controls the White Swan in her mind which could be why Nina struggles to let go as her mother is a large part of her life. 

As her costume evolves she starts to adapt a more relaxed appearance. At the start she always has her hair neatly put back in a bun and fitted clothing. However as she starts to find the Black Swan she begins to wear more floaty clothes and wear her hair down. She begins to look more like Lily who predominately wore floaty outfits to show she has captured the essence of the Black Swan.

The film starts out as a dream end up into becoming a nightmare.