Nina's mother, Erica, is a former dancer living vicariously through her daughter. Even though Erica tends to Nina's every need, it's clear their relationship has crossed from affection to cloying codependency. Erica can no more let Nina grow up than Nina can live without her.

What is up with Nina's mom in Black Swan?

The Black Swan and Psychological Illness

Nina's disordered relationship with her roommate mother Erica, played by Barbara Hershey, sets the stage for Nina's psychological breakdown. Erica is narcissistic, spending all of her time painting pictures of herself and completely infringing on Nina's space and well-being.

Why are Nina's eyes red?

The night before she is set to perform, Nina becomes convinced that Lily is going to take her place. Her paranoia and mental strain cause her to hallucinate that she's physically turning into the role of Odile, the Black Swan, complete with red eyes and black feathers protruding from bird-like skin.

Did Nina actually fall in Black Swan?

In the final ballet performance in Black Swan, Nina is flawless and seems to have achieved the perfection that she was striving for so long. But given that her abdomen wound was still open and bleeding, she most likely succumbed to the bleeding as she falls through the air and lands on the mattress.

Does Lily actually exist in Black Swan?

Lily (Mila Kunis) in "Black Swan" is only real in in half a dozen scenes.

Black Swan (2010) - Dance of the White Swan Scene (5/5) | Movieclips

Did Lily actually sleep with Nina?

NOT REAL: Therefore, Lilly and Nina did not have actual sex (we know this because after sex, Lilly said something to Nina about being a ‘Good girl’ and then tried to smother her. Not real!)

Did Natalie Portman really do ballet?

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."

Was Nina's mom abusive in Black Swan?

Nina is a teenaged girl, and she is being sexually abused by Thomas and her mother. The world of professional ballet looks nothing like what we see in the movie because it isn't one: it's a ballet school, Thomas is an instructor, and the Swan Queen production is a one-night performance by students.

Is The Black Swan Based on a true story?

It is, though, far from being the whole truth. The “Black Swan” screenplay has surely been prompted by a number of dancers' memoirs — Gelsey Kirkland's 1986 best seller, “Dancing on My Grave,” is just the most famous — to convey its neurotic version of the internal life of ballet.

Why did he kiss Nina in Black Swan?

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.

What is Nina's mental illness?

Additionally, Nina's constant fixation on achieving perfection displays elements of an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. The movie provides no explanation of Nina's diagnosis, nor does it show her receiving treatment, which left interpretation of her mental illness to the audience.

How old was Natalie Portman in Black Swan?

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.

Why does Nina pick her skin?

Skin picking is shown as a symptom of Nina Sayers' anxiety and OCD in the movie Black Swan.

What mental illness did Black Swan have?

Accuracy of Portrayal

Although symptoms would not occur as rapidly as they do in Nina Sayers in most common cases of schizophrenia, it is plausible. Therefore, Black Swan is a decent portrayal of a person's descent into paranoid schizophrenia.

What did Nina do in the toilet Black Swan?

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.

Is Black Swan about BPD?

Rachel Loewy, assistant adjunct professor of psychiatry at UC San Francisco, agrees that Nina's troubles could be consistent with a borderline personality disorder (in which a person has difficulty setting proper boundaries between herself and others) rather than a full-blown psychosis.

Did Natalie Portman really dance in the 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.

Was the eating out scene in Black Swan real?

Hi. Her character did, but she didn't. That said, it was still extremely awkward for both of them, and they have spoken about their discomfort while shooting the scene quite a few times.

Did she have schizophrenia in Black Swan?

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.

Did Nina actually stab Beth?

In Black Swan, when Nina visits the previous main dancer, Beth, in hospital, she stabs her face with the nail file, but then Nina sees herself in her. And when Nina runs out, she sees the file in her own bloody hands.

Did Natalie Portman wear pointe shoes in Black Swan?

The way she wears her clothes and slouches around in her practice-kit is well-observed, and the minutiae of darning and breaking in pointe shoes is spot-on. Portman acted well in Black Swan, but if she has failed to acknowledge Lane's contribution, she may have acted pretty gracelessly too.

How much weight did Natalie lose for Black Swan?

Natalie Portman has transformed herself for many film roles, but nothing was as grueling as her Black Swan makeover. The actress shed an astonishing 20lbs from her already slight frame to play a ballerina in the 2011 film and admitted it put such a toll on her body that she thought she was going to die.

Did Goldie Hawn take ballet?

At the age of three, Goldie began taking ballet and tap dance lessons, and at the age of ten she danced in the chorus of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo production of "The Nutcracker". At the age of 19 she ran and instructed a ballet school, having dropped out of college where she was majoring in drama.

What age is Nina in Black Swan?

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.

Why did Lily drug Nina?

Lily notices that Nina is a bit stiff and stressed, so the offers her a pill of ecstasy to relax.