Black Swan (film)
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''Black Swan'' is a 2010 American
psychological horror Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequently overlaps with the related subge ...
film directed by
Darren Aronofsky Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His films are noted for their surrealistic, melodramatic, and sometimes disturbing elements, often in the form of psychological fiction. Arono ...
from a screenplay by
Mark Heyman Mark Heyman (born 1979) is an American screenwriter and film producer who is best known for co-writing ''Black Swan'' (2010) and ''The Skeleton Twins'' (2014). Early life Heyman grew up in New Mexico. He attended Brown University, where he major ...
, John McLaughlin, and Andres Heinz, based on a story by Heinz. The film stars
Natalie Portman Natalie Portman (born Natalie Hershlag, he, נטע-לי הרשלג, ) is an Israeli-born American actress. She has had a prolific film career since her teenage years and has starred in various blockbusters and independent films, receiving mu ...
,
Vincent Cassel Vincent Cassel (; ; born 23 November 1966) is a French actor. He first achieved recognition for his performance as a troubled French Jewish youth in Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 film '' La Haine (Hate)'', for which he received two César Award ...
,
Mila Kunis Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis (born August 14, 1983) is an American actress. Born in Chernivtsi and raised in Los Angeles, she began playing Jackie Burkhart on the Fox television series ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006) at the age of 14. Since ...
,
Barbara Hershey Barbara Lynn Herzstein, better known as Barbara Hershey (born February 5, 1948), is an American actress. In a career spanning more than 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema in several genres, including weste ...
, and
Winona Ryder Winona Laura Horowitz (born October 29, 1971), professionally known as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. Originally playing quirky roles, she rose to prominence for her more diverse performances in various genres in the 1990s. She has recei ...
, and revolves around a production of
Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
's '' Swan Lake'' by the
New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...
company. 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 a feeling of 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. The director also considered ''Black Swan'' a companion piece to his 2008 film '' The Wrestler'', with both films involving demanding performances for different kinds of art. He and Portman first discussed the project in 2000, and after a brief attachment to
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
, ''Black Swan'' was produced in New York City in 2009 by
Fox Searchlight Pictures Searchlight Pictures, Inc. is an American film production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is part of the Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1994 as Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. for 20th Century Fox (later 20th Century Stu ...
. Portman and Kunis trained in ballet for several months before filming began. ''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 In the American motion picture industry, a wide release (short for nationwide release) is a film playing at the same time at cinemas in most markets across the country. This is in contrast to the formerly common practice of a roadshow theatrical r ...
on December 17. Upon its release, the film received critical acclaim, with particular praise toward Aronofsky's direction and the performances of Portman and Kunis. It was also a commercial success, grossing $329 million worldwide against a $13 million budget. The film received five nominations at the 83rd Academy Awards, including
Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
, with Portman winning
Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...
; it also received four nominations at the
68th Golden Globe Awards The 68th Golden Globe Awards were broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 16, 2011, by NBC. The host was Ricky Gervais. The nominations were announced on December 14, 2010, by Josh Duhamel, Katie Holmes ...
, including Best Motion Picture – Drama, with Portman winning
Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...
. In 2021, Portman's performance was included in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
''s list of the best film performances of the 21st century.


Plot

Nina Sayers, a young ballerina with the
New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...
company, lives with her overprotective mother, Erica, herself a former dancer. The company is opening the season with
Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
's '' Swan Lake''. After forcing prima ballerina Elizabeth "Beth" MacIntyre into retirement, artistic director Thomas Leroy announces he is looking for a new dancer for the dual roles of the innocent and fragile White Swan Odette and the sensual and dark Black Swan Odile. Nina auditions for the roles and gives a flawless rehearsal as Odette, but fails to embody Odile. The next day, Nina asks Thomas to reconsider her role. When he forcibly kisses her, she bites him and runs out of his office. Later that day, Nina sees the cast list and discovers to her surprise she has received the lead roles. At a gala celebrating the new season, an intoxicated Beth accuses Nina of providing sexual favors to Thomas in return for a promotion. The next day, Nina hears Beth was hit by a car, but Thomas believes she was attempting suicide. Nina visits an unconscious Beth in the hospital and sees to her horror that her legs have been severely injured, meaning she will be unable to perform as a ballet dancer again. During rehearsals, Thomas tells Nina to observe a newcomer, Lily, who has a physical resemblance to Nina but also an uninhibited quality Nina lacks. Nina has hallucinations and finds scratch marks on her back. One night, despite Erica's objection, Nina accepts Lily's invitation to go out for drinks. Lily offers Nina an ecstasy capsule, saying it would help her relax. Nina turns it down at first, but then accepts. She repeats Lily's assurance that the effects will only last for a few hours, and quickly begins to act under the ecstasy's influence. Nina flirts with men at the bar and Lily as well. The two dance at a nightclub and return to Nina's apartment late that night. After arguing with her mother, Nina barricades herself in her room and Lily performs oral sex on her. The next morning, she wakes up alone and realizes that she is late for the dress rehearsal. Upon arriving at
Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...
, Nina sees Lily dancing as Odile and confronts her about their night together. She seems confused by Nina's insinuation that they had sex and denies going home with Nina, saying she went home with one of the men from the bar. Nina becomes convinced Lily intends to take her place, especially after learning that Thomas has made Lily her alternate. Nina's hallucinations grow stronger and her injuries increase, going as far as hallucinating herself transforming into Odile. On opening night, she shouts to her mother, "I'm the swan queen, you're the one who never left the
corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...
!", after her mother tells her she called the theater and told them Nina was not well enough to perform and tries to convince Nina that the role has been too much for her. As Nina is late, Lily is prepared to replace her. Nina confronts Thomas, who is impressed by her newfound confidence and allows her to take back her roles. Towards the end of the ballet's second act, Nina is distracted by another hallucination and loses her stability as Odette. This causes the male dancer playing the prince to drop her on stage, which infuriates Thomas. She returns to her dressing room and finds Lily preparing as Odile. During a confrontation, Lily transforms into Nina. The two fight, breaking a mirror. Nina stabs her doppelgänger with a large shard of glass from the mirror, killing her. The body reverts to Lily. Nina hides the corpse in the bathroom, and takes the stage, dancing flawlessly as Odile and seemingly turns into a black swan, her arms covered in feathers. Amidst a standing ovation from the audience, Nina surprises Thomas with a passionate kiss and returns to her dressing room. As Nina resumes the Odette tutu and white swan makeup, she hears a knock at her door. She opens it to find Lily alive. Lily apologizes for the misunderstanding and congratulates her before taking her to leave. Confused, Nina sees the mirror is still broken; but the towel she used to mop up the blood is cleanthere is no corpse. She looks down and pulls a piece of glass from her abdomen, realizing she stabbed herselfnot Lily. Nina dances the final act of the ballet, which ends with Odette throwing herself off a cliff and Nina landing on a mattress. The theater erupts in thunderous applause while Thomas, Lily, and the others gather to congratulate Nina, who remains lying on the mattress. Thomas sees the blood spreading at her waist and shouts for help. He frantically asks Nina what happened to her. Nina calmly replies that she was perfect as the screen fades to white.


Cast

During the closing credits, the major cast members are credited both as their film characters as well as their corresponding characters from '' Swan Lake''. *
Natalie Portman Natalie Portman (born Natalie Hershlag, he, נטע-לי הרשלג, ) is an Israeli-born American actress. She has had a prolific film career since her teenage years and has starred in various blockbusters and independent films, receiving mu ...
as Nina Sayers/White Swan/Odette *
Mila Kunis Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis (born August 14, 1983) is an American actress. Born in Chernivtsi and raised in Los Angeles, she began playing Jackie Burkhart on the Fox television series ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006) at the age of 14. Since ...
as Lily/Black Swan/Odile *
Vincent Cassel Vincent Cassel (; ; born 23 November 1966) is a French actor. He first achieved recognition for his performance as a troubled French Jewish youth in Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 film '' La Haine (Hate)'', for which he received two César Award ...
as Thomas Leroy/The Gentleman *
Barbara Hershey Barbara Lynn Herzstein, better known as Barbara Hershey (born February 5, 1948), is an American actress. In a career spanning more than 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema in several genres, including weste ...
as Erica Sayers/The Queen *
Winona Ryder Winona Laura Horowitz (born October 29, 1971), professionally known as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. Originally playing quirky roles, she rose to prominence for her more diverse performances in various genres in the 1990s. She has recei ...
as Elizabeth "Beth" MacIntyre/The Dying Swan *
Benjamin Millepied Benjamin Millepied (; born 10 June 1977) is a French dancer and choreographer, who has lived and worked in the United States since joining the New York City Ballet in 1995, where he became a soloist in 1998 and a principal in 2002. He has also ...
as David Moreau/Prince Siegfried *
Ksenia Solo Ksenia Solo (born 8 October 1987; pronounced ) is a Latvian-Canadian actress known for portraying Mackenzie "Kenzi" Malikov on ''Lost Girl''. She portrayed Peggy Shippen on '' Turn: Washington's Spies''. Solo also portrayed the character "Natash ...
as Veronica/Little Swan * Kristina Anapau as Galina/Little Swan *
Janet Montgomery Janet Ruth Montgomery (born 29 October 1985) is an English film and TV actress. She first gained attention for her role as Ames in the second season of the television series ''Human Target'' (2010–11), and also for her appearance in the 2009 ...
as Madeline/Little Swan *
Sebastian Stan Sebastian Stan (born August 13, 1982) is a Romanian-American actor. He gained recognition for his role as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier in the Marvel Cinematic Universe media franchise beginning with the film '' Captain America: The First Ave ...
as Andrew/Suitor * Toby Hemingway as Tom/Suitor * Sergio Torrado as Sergio/Von Rothbart *
Mark Margolis Mark Margolis (; born November 26, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for playing Alberto "The Shadow" in '' Scarface'', Antonio Nappa in '' Oz'', and Hector Salamanca in ''Breaking Bad'' and '' Better Call Saul''. His performance in ''Break ...
as Mr. Fithian/Patron * Tina Sloan as Mrs. Fithian/Patron


Production


Conception

Darren Aronofsky Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His films are noted for their surrealistic, melodramatic, and sometimes disturbing elements, often in the form of psychological fiction. Arono ...
first became interested in ballet when his sister studied dance at the High School of Performing Arts in New York City. The basic idea for the film started when he hired screenwriters to rework a screenplay called ''The Understudy'', which portrayed off-Broadway actors and explored the notion of being haunted by a double. Aronofsky said the screenplay had elements of ''
All About Eve ''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve" by Mary Orr, although Orr does not receive a screen credit ...
'',
Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...
's ''
The Tenant ''The Tenant'' (French: ''Le locataire'') is a 1976 psychological horror film set in France but filmed in English and directed by Roman Polanski, starring Polanski, Isabelle Adjani, Melvyn Douglas, and Shelley Winters. It is based upon the 196 ...
'', and
Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
's novella '' The Double''. The director had also seen numerous productions of ''Swan Lake'', and he connected the duality of the White Swan and the Black Swan to the script. When researching for the production of ''Black Swan'', Aronofsky found ballet to be "a very insular world" whose dancers were "not impressed by movies". Regardless, the director found active and inactive dancers to share their experiences with him. He also stood backstage to see the Bolshoi Ballet perform at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Aronofsky called ''Black Swan'' a companion piece to his previous film ''The Wrestler'', recalling one of his early projects about a love affair between a wrestler and a ballerina. He eventually separated the wrestling and the ballet worlds as "too much for one movie". He compared the two films: "Wrestling some consider the lowest art—if they would even call it art—and ballet some people consider the highest art. But what was amazing to me was how similar the performers in both of these worlds are. They both make incredible use of their bodies to express themselves." About the psychological thriller nature of ''Black Swan'', actress Natalie Portman compared the film's tone to Polanski's 1968 film '' Rosemary's Baby'', while Aronofsky said Polanski's '' Repulsion'' (1965) and ''The Tenant'' (1976) were "big influences" on the final film. Actor Vincent Cassel also compared ''Black Swan'' to Polanski's early works and additionally compared it to David Cronenberg's early works.


Casting

Aronofsky first discussed with Portman the possibility of a ballet film in 2000, and he found she was interested in playing a ballet dancer. Portman explained being part of ''Black Swan'', "I'm trying to find roles that demand more adulthood from me because you can get stuck in a very awful cute cycle as a woman in film, especially being such a small person." Portman suggested to Aronofsky that her good friend Mila Kunis would be perfect for the role. Kunis contrasted Lily with Nina, "My character is very loose ... She's not as technically good as Natalie's character, but she has more passion, naturally. That's what inalacks." The female characters are directed in the ''Swan Lake'' production by Thomas Leroy, played by Cassel. He compared his character to George Balanchine, who co-founded
New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...
and was "a control freak, a true artist using sexuality to direct his dancers". Portman and Kunis started training six months before the start of filming in order to attain a body type and muscle tone more similar to those of professional dancers. Portman worked out for five hours a day, doing ballet, cross-training, and swimming. A few months closer to filming, she began choreography training. Kunis engaged in
cardio Cardio (from Greek καρδίᾱ ''kardia'', 'heart') may refer to: * Of the Heart * Cardiology ** Cardiovascular system * Aerobic exercise, also known as cardio * ''Cardio'' (album), a 2010 album by Miguel Bosé See also * * * Physical exerc ...
and
Pilates Pilates (; ) is a type of mind-body exercise developed in the early 20th century by German physical trainer Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named. Pilates called his method "Contrology". It is practiced worldwide, especially in countries suc ...
, "train ngseven days a week, five hours, for five, six months total, and ... was put on a very strict diet of 1,200 calories a day." She lost 20 pounds from her normal weight of about 117 pounds, and reported that Portman "became smaller than I did." Kunis said, "I did ballet as a kid like every other kid does ballet. You wear a tutu and you stand on stage and you look cute and twirl. But this is very different because you can't fake it. You can't just stay in there and like pretend you know what you're doing. Your whole body has to be structured differently." Georgina Parkinson, a ballet mistress from the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), coached the actors in ballet. ABT soloists
Sarah Lane Sarah Lane (born August 3, 1984) is an American ballet dancer who was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre (ABT). She served as a " dance double" for Natalie Portman in the 2010 film '' Black Swan''. Early life Lane was born in San ...
and Maria Riccetto served as "dance doubles" for Portman and Kunis respectively. Dancer Kimberly Prosa also served as a double for Portman. She stated: "Natalie took class, she studied for several months, from the waist up is her. Sarah Lane, a soloist at ABT, did the heavy tricks, she did the
fouetté In dance and gymnastics, a turn is a rotation of the body about the vertical axis. It is usually a complete rotation of the body, although quarter (90°) and half (180°) turns are possible for some types of turns. Multiple, consecutive turns are ...
s, but they only had her for a limited time, a couple of weeks, so I did the rest of whatever dance shots they needed." In addition to the soloist performances, members of the
Pennsylvania Ballet The Philadelphia Ballet, formerly known as Pennsylvania Ballet until rebranding in 2021, is Philadelphia's largest ballet company. The company's annual local season features six programs of classic favorites, as well as new works, including the Ph ...
were cast as the
corps de ballet In ballet, the ''corps de ballet'' (; French for "body of the ballet") is the group of dancers who are not principal dancers or soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers. ...
, backdrop for the main actors' performances. Also appearing in the film are Kristina Anapau, Toby Hemingway, Sebastian Stan, and Janet Montgomery.


Development and filming

Aronofsky and Portman first discussed a ballet film in 2000, after the release of ''Requiem for a Dream'', though the script had not yet been written. He told her about a love scene between competing ballet dancers, and Portman recalled, "I thought that was very interesting because this movie is in so many ways an exploration of an artist's ego and that narcissistic sort of attraction to yourself and also repulsion with yourself." On the decade's wait before production, she said, "The fact that I had spent so much time with the idea ... allowed it to marinate a little before we shot." The screenplay ''The Understudy'' was written by Andres Heinz; Aronofsky first heard about it while editing his second film ''
Requiem for a Dream ''Requiem for a Dream'' is a 2000 American psychological drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher McDonald and Marlon Wayans. It is based on the 1978 novel of the same name ...
'' (2000) and described it as "''All About Eve'' with a double, set in the off-Broadway world." After making ''
The Fountain ''The Fountain'' is a 2006 American epic romantic drama film written and directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. Blending elements of fantasy, history, spirituality, and science fiction, the film consists of t ...
'' (2006), Aronofsky and producer
Mike Medavoy Morris Mike Medavoy (born January 21, 1941) is an American film producer and business executive. He is the co-founder of Orion Pictures (1978), former chairman of TriStar Pictures, former head of production for United Artists (1974–1978), and ...
had screenwriter John McLaughlin rewrite ''The Understudy''; Aronofsky said McLaughlin "took my idea of ''Swan Lake'' and the ballet and put
he story He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
into the ballet world and changed the title to ''Black Swan''." When Aronofsky proposed a detailed outline of ''Black Swan'' to
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
, the studio decided to fast-track development of the project in January 2007. The project "sort of died, again" according to Aronofsky, until after the making of '' The Wrestler'' (2008), when he had
Mark Heyman Mark Heyman (born 1979) is an American screenwriter and film producer who is best known for co-writing ''Black Swan'' (2010) and ''The Skeleton Twins'' (2014). Early life Heyman grew up in New Mexico. He attended Brown University, where he major ...
, director of development of Aronofsky's production company Protozoa Pictures, write for ''Black Swan'' "and made it something that was workable." By June 2009, Universal had placed the project in turnaround, generating attention from other studios and specialty divisions, particularly with actress Portman attached to star. ''Black Swan'' began development under Protozoa Pictures and Overnight Productions, the latter financing the film. In July 2009, Kunis was cast. Fox Searchlight Pictures distributed ''Black Swan'' and gave the film a production budget of $10–12 million. Principal photography was achieved using Super 16 mm cameras and began in New York City toward the end of 2009. Part of filming took place at the Performing Arts Center at
State University of New York at Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase (commonly Purchase College or SUNY Purchase) is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. It was fo ...
. Aronofsky filmed ''Black Swan'' with a muted palette and a grainy style, which he intended to be similar to ''The Wrestler''. Aronofsky said: Cinematographer Matthew Libatique shot the film on
16mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, educ ...
.


Musical soundtrack

The non-original music featured in ''Black Swan'' consists of music by
Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
featuring performances on-screen and in the soundtrack by violinist
Tim Fain __FORCETOC__ Tim Fain is an American violinist, best known for his performances in the movie '' Black Swan'' and his work with American composer Philip Glass. Early life and education A native of Santa Monica, California, Fain is the son of Go ...
and a track of
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...
dance music by English production duo
The Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat genre t ...
. It marks the fifth consecutive collaboration between Aronofsky and English composer
Clint Mansell Clinton Darryl Mansell (; born 7 January 1963) is an English musician, singer, and composer, born in Coventry. He served as the lead singer and multi-instrumentalist of alt-rock band Pop Will Eat Itself before embarking on a career as a film s ...
, who composed the original score for the film. Mansell attempted to score the film based on Tchaikovsky's ballet but with radical changes to the music. Because of the use of Tchaikovsky's music, the score was deemed ineligible to be entered into the 2010 Academy Awards for Best Original Score. The Chemical Brothers' music, which is featured prominently during the club scene in ''Black Swan'', is omitted from the soundtrack album.


Release

''Black Swan'' had its
world premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its firs ...
as the opening film at the 67th Venice Film Festival on September 1, 2010. It received a standing ovation whose length ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' said made it "one of the strongest Venice openers in recent memory". The festival's artistic director Marco Mueller had chosen ''Black Swan'' over '' The American'' (starring
George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...
) for opening film, saying, " twas just a better fit ... Clooney is a wonderful actor, and he will always be welcome in Venice. But it was as simple as that." ''Black Swan'' screened in competition and is the third consecutive film directed by Aronofsky to premiere at the festival, following ''
The Fountain ''The Fountain'' is a 2006 American epic romantic drama film written and directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. Blending elements of fantasy, history, spirituality, and science fiction, the film consists of t ...
'' and ''The Wrestler''. ''Black Swan'' was presented in a sneak screening at the
Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022. History First held on 30 August 1974, th ...
on September 5, 2010. It also had a Gala screening at the 35th
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
later in the month. In October 2010, ''Black Swan'' was screened at the
New Orleans Film Festival The New Orleans Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the nonprofit organization New Orleans Film Society, a film society founded in 1989. The festival has been held since the society's inception. The festival takes place in mid-Oc ...
, the Austin Film Festival, and the
BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...
. In November 2010, the film was screened at
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...
's AFI Fest in Los Angeles, the
Denver Film Festival The Denver Film Festival is held in November, primarily at the Denver Film Center/Colfax, in Denver, Colorado, now the Anna and John J. Sie FilmCenter (Sie FilmCenter). Premiere events are held in the Buell Theatre and Ellie Caulkins Opera House ...
and Camerimage Festival in
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
, Poland. The release of ''Black Swan'' in the United Kingdom was brought forward from February 11 to January 21, 2011. According to ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', the film was considered one of "the most highly anticipated" films of late 2010. The newspaper then compared it to the 1948 ballet film '' The Red Shoes'' in having "a nightmarish quality ... of a dancer consumed by her desire to dance".


Box office

''Black Swan'' had a limited release in select cities in North America on December 3, 2010, in 18 theaters and was a surprise box office success. The film took in a total of $415,822 on its opening day, averaging $23,101 per theater. By the end of its opening weekend it grossed $1,443,809—$80,212 per theater. The per location average was the second highest for the opening weekend of 2010 behind ''
The King's Speech ''The King's Speech'' is a 2010 British historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays the future King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an Australian speech and language ...
''. The film is Fox Searchlight Pictures' highest per-theater average gross ever, and it ranks 21st on the all-time list. On its second weekend the film expanded to 90 theaters, and grossed $3.3 million, ranking it as the sixth film at the box-office. In its third weekend, it expanded again to 959 theaters and grossed $8,383,479. The film went on to gross over $106 million in the United States and over $329 million worldwide.


Home media

The film was released on DVD and
Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...
in Region 1/Region A on March 29, 2011. The Region 2/Region B version was released on May 16, 2011.


Reception


Critical response

Review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
gives the film an approval rating of 85% based on 318 reviews, and an average rating of 8.20/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Bracingly intense, passionate, and wildly melodramatic, ''Black Swan'' glides on Darren Aronofsky's bold direction—and a bravura performance from Natalie Portman." At
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a
weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
score out to reviews, the film received an average score of 79 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In September 2010, ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' reported that based on reviews from the film's screening at the Venice Film Festival, " 'Black Swan''is already set to be one of the year's most love-it-or-hate-it movies."
Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...
, on his blog ''Movie Crazy'', admitted that he "couldn't stand" the film, despite praising Natalie Portman's performance.
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
described the early response to the film as "largely positive" with Portman's performance being highly praised. ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
'' reported that "the film divided critics. Some found its theatricality maddening, but most declared themselves 'swept away'."
Kurt Loder Kurtis Loder (born May 5, 1945) is an American entertainment critic, author, columnist, and television personality. He served in the 1980s as editor at ''Rolling Stone'', during a tenure that ''Reason'' later called "legendary". He has contribute ...
of ''
Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...
'' magazine called the film "wonderfully creepy", and wrote that "it's not entirely satisfying; but it's infused with the director's usual creative brio, and it has a great dark gleaming look." Mike Goodridge from ''
Screen Daily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...
'' called ''Black Swan'' "alternately disturbing and exhilarating" and described the film as a hybrid of '' The Turning Point'' and Polanski's films '' Repulsion'' and '' Rosemary's Baby''. Goodridge described Portman's performance, " heis captivating as Nina ... she captures the confusion of a repressed young woman thrown into a world of danger and temptation with frightening veracity." The critic also commended Cassel, Kunis, and Hershey in their supporting roles, particularly comparing Hershey to
Ruth Gordon Ruth Gordon Jones (October 30, 1896 – August 28, 1985) was an American actress, screenwriter, and playwright. She began her career performing on Broadway at age 19. Known for her nasal voice and distinctive personality, Gordon gained internati ...
in the role of "the desperate, jealous mother". Goodridge praised Libatique's cinematography with the dance scenes and the psychologically "unnerving" scenes: "It's a mesmerising psychological ride that builds to a gloriously theatrical tragic finale as Nina attempts to deliver the perfect performance." Kirk Honeycutt of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' gave the film a mixed review. He wrote, " 'Black Swan''is an instant guilty pleasure, a gorgeously shot, visually complex film whose badness is what's so good about it. You might howl at the sheer audacity of mixing mental illness with the body-fatiguing, mind-numbing rigors of ballet, but its lurid imagery and a hellcat competition between two rival dancers is pretty irresistible." Honeycutt commended Millepied's "sumptuous" choreography and Libatique's "darting, weaving" camera work. The critic said of the thematic mashup, "Aronofsky ... never succeeds in wedding genre elements to the world of ballet ... White Swan/Black Swan dynamics almost work, but the horror-movie nonsense drags everything down the rabbit hole of preposterousness." Similarly, in a piece for ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'', Rob Kirkpatrick praised Portman's performance but compared the film's story to that of ''
Showgirls ''Showgirls'' is a 1995 erotic drama pulp noir film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. The film stars Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon, Glenn Plummer, Robert Davi, Alan Rachins, and Gina Ravera. Produced ...
'' (1995) and ''
Burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
'' (2010) while concluding ''Black Swan'' is "simply higher-priced cheese, Aronofsky's camembert to 'Burlesque'' director SteveAntin's cheddar. ''Vulture'' Kyle Buchanan also noted the similarities of the film's plot to the widely derided ''
Showgirls ''Showgirls'' is a 1995 erotic drama pulp noir film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. The film stars Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon, Glenn Plummer, Robert Davi, Alan Rachins, and Gina Ravera. Produced ...
'', and said that the director
Darren Aronofsky Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His films are noted for their surrealistic, melodramatic, and sometimes disturbing elements, often in the form of psychological fiction. Arono ...
"owes a feather-tip to
Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...
's exploitation classic more than emight be willing to admit". The film has been criticized for its portrayal of ballet and ballet dancers. Upon the film's release in the United Kingdom, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' interviewed four professional ballet dancers in the UK:
Tamara Rojo Tamara Rojo CBE (born 17 May 1974) is a Spanish ballet dancer. She is the English National Ballet's artistic director (2012–2022) and a lead principal dancer with the company. She was previously a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet. She ...
,
Lauren Cuthbertson Lauren Louise Cuthbertson (born 11 June 1984) is an English ballerina and a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London. Early life and education Lauren Cuthbertson was born in Devon in 1984. She began studying dance at a local dance scho ...
, Edward Watson, and Elena Glurjidze. Rojo called the film "lazy ... featuring every ballet cliche going." Watson felt that the film "makes
allet Shortlanesend ( kw, Penn an Vownder, meaning ''end of the lane'') is a village in Kenwyn parish, Cornwall, England. It lies two miles north of the city of Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, Engl ...
look so naff and laughable. It doesn't show why ballet is so important to us – why we would want to try so hard."
The Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...
also reported that many Canadian ballet dancers felt that the film depicted dancers negatively and exaggerated elements of their lives but gave Portman high marks for her dance technique. In an interview with the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'',
Gillian Murphy Gillian Murphy ( ; born April 11, 1979) is an American ballet dancer who is a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. Early life and education Raised in Florence, South Carolina, Murphy was a member of Columbia City Ballet before at ...
, a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre praised the visual elements of the film but noted that the film presentation of the ballet world was "extreme."


Controversies

Several critics noted striking similarities between
Satoshi Kon was a Japanese film director, animator, screenwriter and manga artist from Sapporo, Hokkaido and a member of the Japanese Animation Creators Association (JAniCA). He was a graduate of the Graphic Design department of the Musashino Art Univer ...
's 1997
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
film ''
Perfect Blue is a 1997 Japanese animated psychological thriller film directed by Satoshi Kon. It is based on the novel by Yoshikazu Takeuchi, with a screenplay written by Sadayuki Murai. Featuring the voices of Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shiho Niiy ...
'' and Aronofsky's ''Black Swan''. In response to comparisons between ''Perfect Blue'' and ''Black Swan'', Aronofsky acknowledged the similarities in 2010, but denied that ''Black Swan'' was inspired by ''Perfect Blue''. Kon noted in his blog that he had met with Aronofsky in 2001.


Costume design

Amy Westcott is credited as the costume designer and received several award nominations. A publicized controversy arose regarding the question of who had designed 40 ballet costumes for Portman and the dancers. An article in the British newspaper ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' suggested those costumes had actually been created by Rodarte's Kate and Laura Mulleavy. Westcott challenged that view and stated that in all only seven costumes, among them the Black and White Swan, had been created in a collaboration between Rodarte, Westcott, and Aronofsky. Furthermore, the corps ballet's costumes were designed by Zack Brown (for the American Ballet Theatre), and slightly adapted by Westcott and her costume design department. Westcott said: "Controversy is too complimentary a word for two people using their considerable self-publicising resources to loudly complain about their credit once they realized how good the film is."


Dance double

ABT dancer
Sarah Lane Sarah Lane (born August 3, 1984) is an American ballet dancer who was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre (ABT). She served as a " dance double" for Natalie Portman in the 2010 film '' Black Swan''. Early life Lane was born in San ...
served as a "dance double" for Portman in the film. In a March 3 blog entry for ''
Dance Magazine ''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' has multiple sister publications, including ''Pointe' ...
'', editor-in-chief
Wendy Perron Wendy Perron is an American dancer, choreographer, and teacher who was the editor-in-chief of '' Dance Magazine'' from 2004 to 2013. She is the author of ''Through the Eyes of a Dancer, Selected Writings'', published by Wesleyan University Pres ...
asked: "Do people really believe that it takes only one year to make a ballerina? We know that Natalie Portman studied ballet as a kid and had a year of intensive training for the film, but that doesn't add up to being a ballerina. However, it seems that many people believe that Portman did her own dancing in ''Black Swan''." This led to responses from
Benjamin Millepied Benjamin Millepied (; born 10 June 1977) is a French dancer and choreographer, who has lived and worked in the United States since joining the New York City Ballet in 1995, where he became a soloist in 1998 and a principal in 2002. He has also ...
and Aronofsky, who both defended Portman, as well as a response from Lane claiming that she has not been given due credit.


Accolades and awards

''Black Swan'' appeared on many critics' top ten lists of 2010 and is frequently considered to be one of the best films of the year. It was featured on the
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...
's 10 Movies of the Year. On January 25, 2011, the film was nominated for five
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
s (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing) and won one for Portman's performance.


References


External links

* {{Good article 2010 LGBT-related films 2010 drama films 2010 films 2010 horror films 2010 horror thriller films 2010 independent films 2010 psychological thriller films 2010 thriller drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s dance films 2010s horror drama films 2010s psychological horror films American LGBT-related films American dance films American horror drama films American horror thriller films American independent films American psychological horror films American psychological thriller films American thriller drama films BAFTA winners (films) Cross Creek Pictures films Dune Entertainment films Fiction with unreliable narrators Magic realism films Films about ballet Films about dysfunctional families Films about sexual repression Films directed by Darren Aronofsky Films featuring a Best Actress Academy Award-winning performance Films featuring a Best Drama Actress Golden Globe-winning performance Films produced by Brian Oliver Films scored by Clint Mansell Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City Fox Searchlight Pictures films Independent Spirit Award for Best Film winners Lesbian-related films LGBT-related drama films LGBT-related controversies in film LGBT-related horror thriller films Films about mother–daughter relationships Phoenix Pictures films Protozoa Pictures films Swan Lake Films shot in 16 mm film 2010s American films