“I really just wanted to walk out,” says Sara Mearns, remembering when she saw Black Swan in theaters. Like Nina, Mearns is a principal dancer at New York City Ballet. “Everything that she was going through was completely wrong and opposite of what I had gone through and what I think every ballerina goes through.”
It's excessive and psychologically imprecise, coarse where it should be refined and too much like a David Cronenberg horror movie in places where restraint and intellectual rigor are called for. Black Swan is a stage door melodrama putting new spins on cliches as old as "All About Eve" (and maybe Adam).
Why is Swan Lake the most difficult ballet to dance?
Not only is the choreography technically challenging, but in order to create the effect of a flock of swans, the corps de ballet need to move in complete unison. A great deal of strength and stamina is required to perform the ethereal movements and intricate formations.
Black Swan received widespread critical acclaim upon release, with particular praise toward Aronofsky's direction and the performances of Portman, Kunis and Hershey.
Black Swan is a dark psychological horror film that delves into the world of ballet, mental health, and the price of success. The intense pressure and obsession for perfection leads the main character, Nina, into a state of hallucinations and mental strain.
Can child stars go on to credible careers? With her Ivy League credentials and a performance in Black Swan that's put her in line for an Oscar, Natalie Portman proves it can be done... At 29, Natalie Portman has already been in the business a long time.
Taking a solitary walk by the lake, the young Princess Odette encounters the wicked Von Rothbart. Overcome with fear, she turns and runs in the hope of escaping his evil power. However, she is not quick enough, and Von Rothbart casts a spell on Odette, transforming her into a swan.
After the 83rd Academy Awards, where Portman won Best Actress for her performance in the film as a ballerina, controversy arose over how much credit for the dancing in the film was being given to her and how much to her "dance double", American Ballet Theatre soloist Sarah Lane.
Subtle elements like the scratches on Nina's back and the prolonged damage to her feet represent the scary reality of being a ballerina, but the movie also slowly ratchets up the body horror as things go on.
There are simply too many psychological issues going on with Nina. She shows elements of an anxiety disorder with obsessive compulsive behaviors. She also manifests self-injurious behavior and some signs of an eating disorder.
The “en Pointe” technique in classical ballet is one of the most challenging to execute. In this move, a dancer has to support their entire bodyweight on their feet, which are fully extended.
“Swan Lake” — which opens, in a production choreographed by Kent Stowell, at Pacific Northwest Ballet on Feb. 2 — is, of course, much more than a sequence of turns. The technically and artistically demanding double role of Odette (White Swan) and Odile (Black Swan) is perhaps the most difficult in all of ballet.
The other thing to remember is that once you reach that stage of being a professional, the training and work doesn't stop. Most professionals will dance for around 10 hours a day and will be in classes, training or performing 5-6 days a week.
In some productions, Odile is known as "The Black Swan" and rather than magically disguised as her, is Odette's evil twin or double, an example of this type of portrayal is seen in the production by The Bolshoi Ballet.
Her final line and the look of satisfaction on her face possibly imply that Nina is finally content with her artistic capabilities, and it no longer matters to her whether she survives or not. The purpose of her life has now been attained. The Black Swan explained that maybe, Nina does die after all.
An event that is unpredictable. A black swan event results in severe and widespread consequences. After the occurrence of a black swan event, people will rationalize the event as having been predictable (known as hindsight bias).
But speaking as a psychiatrist, Lamberti said the film did not accurately depict schizophrenia, as has been widely speculated, but "does present a reasonable portrait of psychosis." "People tend to be scared of things they don't understand," he said.
Synopsis. The movie opens as Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), a young ballerina in her mid twenties, is dancing the prologue to Swan Lake. Swan Lake is a ballet in which a princess is turned into the White Swan and can only be turned back if a man swears eternal fidelity to her.
Overall, "Black Swan" was successful because it was a well-crafted and intense psychological thriller that combined strong performances, a compelling story, innovative direction, and beautiful cinematography and score to create an unforgettable cinematic experience.
Was Natalie Portman actually dancing in Black Swan?
In a written statement, "Black Swan" director Darren Aronofsky said, "Here is the reality. I had my editor count shots. There are 139 dance shots in the film -- 111 are Natalie Portman untouched. Twenty-eight are her dance double Sarah Lane.
Soon after the L.A.-based Kunis was cast in "Black Swan," the film's choreographer, Benjamin Millepied, contacted the Los Angeles Ballet's artistic directors and asked if they could provide Kunis with ballet training. Instead of taking on the task themselves, they recommended Blacker for the assignment.
What does the Black Swan symbolize in Black Swan movie?
The Black Swans character of lust, guile, and sensuality was what Nina will become. The wings representing the Black Swan penetrating Nina with pleasure, the sexual interactions Nina was depraved of as a child from the time consuming life of Ballet.
Personality… childlike, insecure, and psychologically disturbed. The pressure of being the Swan Queen has been affecting Nina's behavior, and her perfectionism is starting to take a noticeable toll on her mental health.
Thomas notes that Nina clearly came with the intention to change his mind, to try and seduce him, in the mildest sense of the word. Thomas wants Nina to lose herself, that is how she can become the Black Swan. Thomas forcefully kisses Nina and she bits him.
Because the character of Odile is actually the evil Von Rothbart's daughter magically disguised as Odette, the two roles are most often portrayed by the same dancer, but occasionally they are danced by two different dancers in the same performance.
