Similar to most real-life presentations, Nina's psychotic symptoms gradually worsen over time. Nina's disturbance in perception is evidenced by hallucinations, which evolve from shadows and seeing her face on others, to Nina's belief that she is physically transforming into a swan.
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.
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.
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.
Sometimes in these situations, where a mother is caring for a mentally ill child the child's life needs to be strictly regimented and controlled in order to maintain stability. This could be the reason why Erica feels the need to restrict Nina's movements and social interactions.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lily was the evil twin and the director of the play was the prince, Lily was seducing the director (Thomas) but Nina becomes the black swan and seduces him but ended up killing herself to finally free herself from the constant burden she puts on herself to be perfect all the time.
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.
Just like where we're lead to believe she killed Lily - she really just confronted her fears of being replaced. Nina stabbing Beth is a crucial point in her Character Development - accepting that she can do this role and will not let herself fail.
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.
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.
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.
How long did Natalie Portman train for Black Swan?
Portman and Kunis started training six months before the start of filming in order to attain a body type and muscle tone more similar to those of professional dancers. Portman worked out for five hours a day, doing ballet, cross-training, and swimming. A few months closer to filming, she began choreography training.
The black swan theory is a concept proposed by the Lebanese-born financial writer and researcher Nassim Nicholas Taleb that describes rare and unpredictable events that have a major socio-economic impact. The term “black swan,” used to designate these events, comes from a 17th-century historical fact.
"I had to look skinny in order to look like a ballerina," she explains. "You fake it. So, the best way to fake it is to unfortunately look like it." The Bad Moms star says she smoked cigarettes and went on a 1,200 calories a day diet to lose the weight.
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.
In the movie, it's VERY strongly suggested that Nina is a virgin, and that she lies at one point when the director asks about the men she's slept with. The scene in the film where the director asks her if she's had sex is not in the script.
In contrast, Siegfried's male lover is giving and compassionate. As the Black Swan, though, he represents what some South Africans, according to Masilo, see as dark forces in society: homosexuality and AIDS. Masilo plays up this dichotomy between the two swans in a pair of pas de deux.
