Something that has been referred to as a "Psychological Thriller" - something my sister urged me to watch and my Mum told me though it would be shocking at the time, it's something that's thought provoking and I would appreciate it later... and it's true, I did.
It's actually everything I like to look for, especially that part of my that's intrested in pscyhology, it has almost everything - whip out your textbooks ladies and gentlemen - you'll find repression, regression, self fulfilling prophecy, hallucinations, possibly schizophrenia... the list is endless - it's increddible to watch, you have to really concentrate to understand exactly what's going on.
The central story is essentially the story of Swan Lake. A young beautiful virgin girl is trapped in the body of the White Swan, and only true love can set her free. As her prince is about to fall for her, her evil twin the Black Swan seduces her lover and takes him for her own - the White Swan, heart broken, kills herself - and in death she is finally free.
Of course, our dear "Nina Sayers" (Natalie Portman) embodies not only the White Swan but in the ballet she has to learn to play both, and in trying to embrace the seductive qualities of the Black Swan, it all but consumes her in her efforts to be "perfect". - What is perfection?
It's a sad story, much like the original ballet - of course with the real twist of her litterally becoming a swan (in her mind at least) - growing feathers and red eyes etc etc... It's amazing to watch, someone making such a psychological, physiological and emotional development into an entirely different person - but I was left thinking at the end - was she worse off?
In the clip I show at the beginning of this post, you hear her mother asking "What happened to my sweet girl?" to which she replies "She's gone." ... But was she ever really so sweet?
There's light and dark in everyone. And by repressing any darkness at all, it's almost just as disturbing and embracing the darkness and letting it consume you. She's a twenty-something-year-old girl living with her mother in a pink bedroom with cuddly toys, and her mum cuts her nails... you just KNOW that's not right! Yet when she becomes the black swan... well she's clearly derranged then too.
I think it's important to accept that it's impossible to be completly perfect, and if it's at the expense of destroying your sanity, even your whole life - then it simply isn't worth it. We all have a white swan and a black swan within us. What matters is, when we look in the mirror, which side do we chose to be?
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