Black Swan stars Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel and Winona Ryder and is directed by Darren Aronofsky. The plot synopsis is as follows:
Nina (Natalie Portman) is a ballerina whose passion for the dance rules every facet of her life. When the company's artistic director decides to replace his prima ballerina for their opening production of "Swan Lake," Nina is his first choice. She has competition in newcomer Lily (Mila Kunis) however. While Nina is perfect for the role of the White Swan, Lily personifies the Black Swan. As rivalry between the two dancers transforms into a twisted friendship, Nina's dark side begins to emerge.
Black Swan is a dark and twisted psychological thriller and one of the best depictions of a 'descent into madness' narrative that I have seen. The film builds and builds to a final performance of Swan Lake, with Nina's obsession with perfection growing until she finally reaches breaking point. The following scene is one of my favourite movie endings ever...
Firstly a light disclaimer: I don't know if this genuinely is one of the best movie endings of all time or if I am just in love with Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake music which- and I don't think this is too controversial a statement- is one of the best compositions in history.
Having said that, Black Swan's finale is a stunning conclusion to Nina's arc throughout the film. Starting off as a repressed, timid dancer, Nina descends into a spiral of obsession, intent on being the perfect White Swan. The push and pull between the 'white swan' and 'black swan' parts of her personality finally concludes with the final performance causing her psyche to crack completely. In doing so, however, Nina is able to deliver a magnificent performance. In that way, this story is comparable to the themes in Whiplash, The Prestige or Nightcrawler, which also saw the central characters sacrifice their mental stability for the sake of ambition.
Aronofsky directs each of the ballet scenes masterfully. (One of my favourites other than this one is the preceding introduction of the black swan, which signals Nina's wavering grip on reality causing her to assume a nightmarish appearance.) The camera follows Portman gracefully, rising and falling with each lift and always staying close, not only making the viewer feel as though we are on the stage with her but also furthering the idea that Nina can no longer separate this performance from reality. This is still my favourite Natalie Portman performance, and it has been noted that the genius of casting her in this film lies with her real life 'good girl' persona at the time which she wanted to break out of, adding a subtle and meta layer to the movie.
The finale of Swan Lake is no doubt Nina's shining triumph- however just like the story told within the ballet itself, this scene is actually a tragedy. The white swan persona dies in the ballet paralleling the death of Nina's innocence. The sheer drama of Tchaikovsky's iconic music heightens the Greek tragedy nature of the story, also reflected in Nina's mother's eyes as she watches in horror as her daughter sacrifices a part of herself in an effort to achieve perfection.
Thanks for reading the 14th in my series of favourite movie scenes! If you'd like to read my thoughts on more, you can find links to the series so far below:
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