Black Swan (2010)

A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odile, the Black Swan.

Director:

Darren Aronofsky

Writers:

Mark Heyman (screenplay), Andres Heinz (screenplay),

Stars:

Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel

Top 250 #180 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 57 wins & 124 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Natalie Portman	...	Nina Sayers / The Swan Queen
Mila Kunis	...	Lily / The Black Swan
Vincent Cassel	...	Thomas Leroy / The Gentleman
Barbara Hershey	...	Erica Sayers / The Queen
Winona Ryder	...	Beth Macintyre / The Dying Swan
Benjamin Millepied	...	David / The Prince
Ksenia Solo	...	Veronica / Little Swan
Kristina Anapau	...	Galina / Little Swan
Janet Montgomery	...	Madeline / Little Swan
Sebastian Stan	...	Andrew / Suitor
Toby Hemingway	...	Tom / Suitor
Sergio Torrado	...	Sergio / Rothbart
Mark Margolis	...	Mr. Fithian / Patron
Tina Sloan	...	Mrs. Fithian / Patron
Abraham Aronofsky	...	Mr. Stein / Patron (as Abe Aronofsky)

Storyline

Nina (Portman) is a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her obsessive former ballerina mother Erica (Hershey) who exerts a suffocating control over her. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side - a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.

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Plot Keywords:

Ballerina | Dancer | Swan Lake | Ballet | Dance | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content, disturbing violent images, language and some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Italian

Release Date:

17 December 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

El cisne negro

Filming Locations:

Bowling Green, Lower Manhattan, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£2,762,429 (UK) (21 January 2011)

Gross:

$106,952,327 (USA) (29 April 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Cross Creek Pictures, Protozoa Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS (as dts) SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The letters that were written on the mirror, in the scene where Nina calls her mother to tell her that she has been accepted for the role, were written by Natalie Portman herself.

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Goofs

When Nina returns home after finding out she has won the role of Swan Queen, she stands at her front door to go in. She is wearing her white scarf around her neck. She then puts her key in the lock and other hand on the door knob as she walks through the door to the other side, her hands are still on the door but her scarf is now over her arm.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Nina Sayers: I had the craziest dream last night. I was dancing the White Swan.

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Connections

Spoofed in Saturday Night Live: Jim Carrey/The Black Keys (2011)
Spoofed in the "Black Swan" segment

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Soundtracks

"Danka Jane"
Written by Tom Rowlands
Performed by The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers perform courtesy of EMI Records Limited
Contains "Swan Lake" written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

User Reviews

Black Swan- Oscar's for Best Film and Natalie Portman?

I will not give away any spoilers so as not to possibly ruin the experience for anyone, but I can say that this movie left me shaking when it was over. What did I just see? I know I was caught up and went for the entire ride from the opening scene till the very end. The reaction of the audience was evident as the end credits came. NO ONE left their seats. They sat and applauded loudly the names as they scrolled up, then upon the very last credit on the screen, they applauded loudly again.

It's a brilliant piece of film making and story telling and acting. "Black Swan", as well as "The King's Speech", will DOMINATE at the 2011 Oscars and Golden Globes and whatever other films awards show there is... AND deservedly so.

I am anxious to see the film again right away with friends, but will actually wait to continue to savor the feeling the initial viewing of the film still illicit in me. It was a thrilling time and I am looking forward to seeing just how successful this film will become and what my friends and family will say.