The Black Swan is an engrossing film which pierces deep within the psyche of an individual tormented by lofty metaphysical heights. The metaphysical height in this film deals with the idea of perfection and how it can be achieved. The film centres on the ballerina Nina (Natalie Portman) who is chosen by the director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) to play the role of the Swan princess following the departure of the former princess ( in the ballet company that is) Beth (Winona Ryder). There is also competition from a new member of the company, Lily (Mila Kunis). The director demands that the role of the swan princess which is split into two personas the white (pure, fragile tender etc) and the dark (sensual, beguiling etc) be played by the lead performer which is Nina. Nina is a natural fit for the white swan because she is tender and fragile by nature but the question is: Does she have what it takes to undergo the transformation from the white swan into the black one? Most of the psychological terror experienced by Nina in this film centres on this question because in her effort to transform into the black swan she endures an inward confrontation that may destroy her in the long run. In order to play this role one must endure rigorous sessions of practice to acquire the delicate balance between the two personas. The problem could have been easily resolved had the director chosen Lily to be the Black Swan because she is a natural fit due to her libertine behaviour. Nina does not want to disappoint and so she is determined to play the Black Swan at all costs. What the viewer sees in the film is a metaphysical or Kafkaesque like transformation as opposed to a literal one. Therefore the effects in the film reflect this surrealism which is grounded in a banal reality. The reality is banal because it is merely a ballet where people dance to the music; the audience members will not care about the metaphysical ordeal you will simply feel that it requires practice and rigorous training sessions like any other craft. It is also apparent that Nina is the only one going through this dilemma. While watching it at first I wondered if they were not going overboard but i was reminded that some actors really do inhabit roles to the point of psychological torture (Heath Ledger as the Joker) so as to achieve the goal of perfection i.e. you cannot go any higher. Nina is a technically gifted ballerina but with no soul according to the director because she does not know how to let go when portraying the Black Swan. It is because she is frigid why she is able to play the White Swan perfectly. Eminem says you have to lose yourself in the music because you only get one shot (Go listen to the song ‘Lose yourself’). This is basically Nina’s dilemma she has to lose herself in the performance when she becomes the Black Swan.
If the Black Swan is complicated for you just remember the story of the Swan Princess as it is told in the film and you will realise that Nina is actually reliving the tale in her psyche. There were two Swans the white swan and the black swan who sought the affection of the dazzling prince. The prince did prefer the white swan but due to some subterfuge on the part of the Black Swan the Prince was beguiled by her charm and eventually chose her. The White swan was heart broken and in despair she leapt from a cliff to her death. You should bear this in mind so that you can understand the competition between Nina and lily for the affection of the artistic director. It also helps you to understand the end.
The director has a way with the ladies and tries to encourage Nina to lose herself in her sexuality. The erotic release will allow her to relax her frigid state when portraying the Black Swan. He also wants to have his way with her which is what will occur when she does let go. There is a scene where he does grope her but for him that is not the thrill. The thrill is when she can seduce him. This is where Lily would be the perfect fit for the Black swan. The erotic component as it is portrayed in the film is trite but it is necessary in the quest for absolute mastery. The main reason why Nina cannot break her fragile state is her upbringing. Her only life is the ballet and it is a tradition seemingly passed down from her mother who also lives in her own fantasy where she is an overbearing influence on Nina. The mother still sees Nina as a child with her room full of stuffed animals and a windup music box with a ballerina on top that puts her to sleep. That is one obstacle she has to overcome so as to undergo the transition. She has also to indulge in actions which are normally considered negative because they normally involve some form of excess which allows you to let go: drugs and alcohol in the club. All of this is documented in the film and encourages Nina to let go of her inhibitions so that she may transform her frigid white swan state into the Black Swan. This is all accompanied by the metaphysical transformation that is taking place within Nina’s psyche. She starts hallucinating, her skin blushes red her eyes also begin to turn red in her mind and visions of Lily also manifest themselves. Do not be confused because Nina is simply undergoing a metaphysical transformation into the Black swan and not a literal one. The end will reveal all. Lily for Nina represents her natural counterpart not only as her competitor for the position as leading ballerina but from the perspective of personality. This is why she can pick out Lily almost immediately in a crowded train at the beginning of the film without having seen her before. It is one of those connections that we all experience regardless if it is a love/ hate relationship. When someone is fragile and tender they are normally repulsed by one with an aggressive mindset. The two seem to complement each other because the element of each is in all of us we simply embrace one more than the other. Normally for a frigid woman to release her inhibitions it requires an aggressive man or woman to seize her. I am not talking about rape. Likewise for an aggressive person to cool his or her temper it normally requires a placid character like Nina and hence you have the story of Beauty and the Beast. The white and the Black swan are in all of us. You realize this in an early scene where Nina goes to the office of the director to try and persuade him to give her the role so she wears lipstick to seem more attractive. Although that is all she is prepared to do some women, as Beth (Winona Ryder) states in her own way, would probably perform oral sex or go all the way just to get the part. Does this mean they sell their soul? Or is it simply a part of your nature but it is simply repressed in favour of the other person who represents cleanliness? If you are concerned about the visions of Lily you will realise by the end that she simply represents a state of mind for Nina. As Dr. Crane/Scarecrow explains in ‘Batman Begins’ paranoid people normally focus their anguish on an external tormentor. In Nina’s case it is Lily so the Lily you see at times is not real but a manifestation of Nina’s demons.
This idea of perfection within the context of humanity has to be explained briefly here. Since the dawn of civilization man has sought to perfect himself. I do not mean perfection within him but what lies around him. When we became conscious of the world around nature seemed wild and unforgiving and so it had to be conquered so as to bring it under our sway which would make it more manageable. In the process of taming nature we built upon it our own foundations so that we could manifest our ideas of civilization. Whenever we encroach on nature we are supposedly contributing to the advancement of civilization which is now manifesting in the populous urban areas where commerce is the benchmark of life. This is why nature is regarded by some individuals as interesting but antiquated. Few of us visit nature without our man made appendages which will keep us in line with humanity. We always observe nature at a distance (sunset, sunrise, the moon etc) so that we can make sense of it and its functions. We, initially, attribute the work of nature to a God or a supreme being and in some cases an external tormentor. The height of our paranoia begins here because god seems like the end all of anything from the perspective of the idealist before he is superseded by the materialist who sees the function of society from an economic perspective. The materialist sees the perfection within the confines of society and how we can make it better. We are all driven to make things better in the world (Human rights, world peace, eco friendly initiatives, love etc) . We are driven to make things better within the material perspective because we are aspiring towards a perfect state. With the idealist (a Hegelian motif) he sees perfection in reaching God or, what boils down to the same thing, being Godlike i.e. maintaining some form of balance within ourselves or control of our surroundings (impartial). Therefore you have idealists believing they are in tune with god or the gods because that concept of god is seen as being perfect. That is the simple form of perfection for the idealist Nina in this film where she tries to balance the act of playing the White and Black swan because as you see by the end there is a lot of light (even the most simple minded person knows what that light represents). This brings me to one more basic idea of perfection for both the materialist and the idealist: contradiction. In order for anyone to be perfect you have to resolve contradiction. It is as simple as that. With contradiction you cannot be perfect therefore the materialist who is aspiring for the perfect man made society has to resolve the fact that even though we as man systematically destroy nature how is it that we enrich ourselves at the same time? Is it not good to destroy nature? Also if I am rich why are you poor? Why do you have to go the Poor house to feed your children and mine can live on steak 5 days a week? Is it a natural Dog eat dog world? (Not trying to be clever but capital ‘D’ in Dog devours common ‘d’ in dog) or can we all be equal? These are questions the materialist has to answer in order to aspire for the perfect society? The idealist, on the other hand, has questions he too much answer when aspiring for perfection. If god is the end all or the essence of perfection and I become like him or in his likeness then what is the point of god if I am now his equal? Can i go further? How is perfection measured? If you aspire to be like God what about those around you? Do you leave them in the wilderness? Is this some selfish quest? Something to make yourself feel better? Why is it that not everyone is in tune with this idea of reaching God? All these questions with regards to the idealist are present in this film. Some of the other ballerinas make some snide remarks when Nina appears such as ‘oh look who has decided to join us from on high.’ (something like that). This is reinforced in the film because Nina does not mingle with them as the piano player remarks a night before the final concert ‘I have a life’ which equates to ‘Why so serious it is just a ballet?’ The Joker says to the Batman ‘You wont kill me because of this sense of self righteousness and I wont kill you because you’re just too much fun’. That was not an exact quote.
With Nina she is aspiring to be Godlike and this normally puts strain on the one who attempts this as it is a psychological ordeal which later affects your actual physical being. This is what happens to Nina in the film as she tries to attain the balance between the Black and White Swan. In order to do this she must resolve the contradiction so as to achieve the perfect balance where she can play both parts with consummate ease. The contradiction in this film is how can you be good and evil at the same time. You can also look at it as: How can I be crazy and yet keep my sanity?
All in all this is one of the year’s best films. I endorse Natalie Portman to take home the Oscar
Recommended films with themes of dichotomy: The Bridge on the River Kwai, 3:10 to Yuma( for the characters played by Christian bale and Russell Crowe) The Dark Knight, A Beautiful Mind, Sideways (for the characters of Miles and jack) I cant think of too many right now but there are many out there i am sure
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