I really like your review! As a former film reviewer, I feel qualified to say that you write excellent reviews!
My boyfriend and I both thought that the lesbian sex scene wasn’t as gratuitous as expected. I guess it just had so much hype built around it that we expected it to be highly erotic, when really it was all relevant to the plot and truly illustrated Nina’s mental breakdown.
I do think that Nina stabbed herself. The way it was presented where everyone was cheering for her and Lily suddenly gets a look of complete shock on her face leads me to believe that there was something physically horrible happening to Nina beside being comatose.
On ANOTHER note, I have recovered from an eating disorder, so I was a little worried going to see it because the media was saying how triggering it was. I definitely did have ED centered thoughts during the film, but I wouldn’t necessarily say it was triggering. If they really had portrayed Nina as being “perfect” then it might have been different, but instead they just showed her eating disorder as being yet another element adding to her imperfection.

Okay, I am done rambling now!

I love love loved the movie. But my mom was so grossed out that she actually got physically ill in the theater….vomit and everything.

It was an intense movie, definitely.

Overall I thought it was great acting, and I love movies where you can take different interpretations about the meanings of different scenes. I like movies that make you really think like that. Requiem for a Dream is also one of my favorite movies of all time, so I wasn’t surprised that I loved this movie as much as I did.

I’m so happy you wrote your review. I really enjoyed reading it! I saw Black Swan the first weekend it was out in NYC and I loved it. I actually had a discussion with my friends who I saw it with about how we wouldn’t want to see it with our families!

I agree with most of your analysis, except about the end. I think she did die (or was gravely injured). I think she really did destroy her dressing room during her breakdown and injured herself in the process. I do agree that she didn’t get really drunk or do E at the club, but I do think she went to the club and had a few (or maybe just 1 considering it was probably her first time drinking) drinks since she was feeling something the next morning.

And, about the lesbian sex scene, I’m not gay, haven’t had sex with a woman, or do I have a desire to, but Mila Kunis is pretty hot and I thought it was good :). Especially after the club scenes and Nina fighting with her mother, I liked the buildup. But I was also the first person I know who saw him so I didn’t hear any of the hype before.

You should do more movie reviews!

Great review. I saw the movie with my dad, which was SO AWKWARD. I was covering my eyes for a lot of the last quarter. I have to say though, it wasn’t triggering at all to me…maybe because I was so horrified by her mental problems that I didn’t even give second thought to her body. But I think that Natalie did an AMAZING job in the role, and unfortunately, a certain kind of body is de rigeur in the ballet community. I thought it was well done, but I probably wouldn’t see it again- I barely slept that night!!

I think that she really did stab herself at the end.
The storyline of the ballet is about twins (white swan and black swan). The white swan falls in love with a prince who is seduced by the black swan. As a result of the seduction, the white swan, in the ballet story, kills herself.
If you think about the movie, it is the story of the ballet – white, pure, innocent girl is the lead role in the ballet seems to have a bit of a thing for the director (she gets dolled up to talk to him, kisses him back when he is seducing her, etc). The black swan of the movie, the evil twin, would be the ballerina who looks shockingly similar to Nina – Lily. And whether or not it is real or just a part of the psychotic breakdown, it is Lily who seduces the director and the actual male dancer who is playing the role of the prince. Nina (the white swan) cannot handle this and actually commits suicide by stabbing herself, not just committing suicide in the ballet.

thought this was interesting – natalie portman is pregnant and now engaged to the guy who played the prince in the black swan

Thanks for the review. I still don’t want to see it simply because it is still a disturbing movie to me – too real and raw I guess into the human mind! Yes, I hate acknowledging truth.

How do you get the hidden pages? Neat. Ah – Christmas isn’t over yet – it makes me sad to hear everyone saying that! It’s still the “old” year. People rush the experience too much 🙂

I agree with your review, I just didn’t enjoy the movie. I thought the character development of Natalie’s character and the struggle with her pure/dark side was brilliant but without more character development of the other important roles I just couldn’t connect to it. I don’t know… I just needed more.

Just saw the movie tonight and think your review was pretty spot-on. I enjoyed it a great deal and think that the idea behind it can apply to many of us (not just ballerinas!) in terms of the repressed parts of ourselves.

I loved the movie, but found it incredibly disturbing (which is what I’ve been telling everyone). I think you wrote an excellent review!

(SPOILERS! SPOILERS!) I felt the whole scene where she went out with Lilly was real, even taking the drugs. I think when she steps out of the bar is where the break with reality begins. Everything in the cab and until she wakes up is her drug/psychotic trip. I think the clue is the weird goose pimple type skin thing they showed us throughout the movie. Whenever you saw that it meant she wasn’t really all there. I also think Lilly’s threats to steal the role as swan queen were all in Nina’s head. I don’t think Lilly was that catty or ambitious. I also think that Nina did stab herself. Because it looks like Thomas sees her bleeding before he asks, “what did you do?”

i pretty much had the same day except mine was on the west coast. near the end of our drive, we also stopped at trader joe’s for a fast veggie-filled dinner. our grocery baskets could have been twins!

I liked the movie but it was so intense and seeing it on Christmas eve with my boyfriend’s grandparents was not the best idea 😛 I think she really did kill herself and I don’t think Lilly ever existed.

I still have to go check out Black swan-everyones has mixed reviews!!! I need to just see it for myself-so I didn’t read the post (yet!). Love all the road trip pics. I’ve been craving indian food so you just spiked the craving-darn;)

I saw Black Swan today! I was very confused and disturbed but it was quite good. I do think, though, that Nina did party with Lily and that she died in the end. When the teacher is talking to Nina, Lily gasps and looks towards Nina’s stomach. Also, I think something was off with the mom…

Literally just got back from BS a few hours ago. I thought it was fantastic. So well done. Incredible acting. Amazing how well Natalie Portman represented good and evil. I think each scene was incredibly purposeful. I left feel disturbed but I think that’s what the director intended. As for the thinsperation, I think that is just a fact of ballet. And while NP looked very thin, I don’t feel this was out of the ordinary. Healthy? No. But sadly all to real.

Nice summary!

I’ve seen this movie twice already, I think I have a slight obsession. And I have a lot of feeling about this movie. It’s definitely one that you want to see on the big screen. I believe Nina really died at the end since it’s basically a story within a story, and in the play the white swan dies, so therefore Nina dies too. My favorite website for homogay culture did a brilliant critique on the film, you should definitely check it out:

http://www.autostraddle.com/black-swan-has-mad-chicks-69450/

It’s very literary. And critiqueful. And awesomeness.

Glad you’re back home! I want to see Black Swan but I think I’ll wait to rent it – so I’ll come back and read your review then 😉 Though I love Natalie Portman!!

great review! and i’m actually happy to see so many people saying they loved the film. i felt weird telling everyone i thought it was amazing b/c it was so disturbing! haha
i read a bad review of the movie that i completely disagreed with. it basically said natalie portman’s character had no depth and was crazy, but nothing else. it said no one would believe that her character would continue to dance b/c she didn’t seem to like it. i couldn’t disagree more!!
i think people who have never been a competitive athlete could totally miss huge points in this movie. you do love the sport, even though you are pushing yourself so hard it can feel miserable. you can get obsessed and walk the line of being perfect or completely mad! often times parents are pushing you to be what they never were, etc.
obviously aranofsky takes this to the extreme… but brilliantly!!!

yay! I LOVE natalie portman and her vegan self! and her vegan shoes (hate the company that made them went under when the economy collapsed-the shoes were really great)! she is an AMAZING actress. she’s never been a flop in anything. her performances are always always right on the mark. if you haven’t seen Closer with her, Jude Law, Julia Roberts, etc–you SHOULD! it mainly takes place in london, is the movie natalie was nominated for an academy award, etc, etc. you and your brit husband would like it. and i think she DOES die at the end. they give a lot of little hints that it’s real–the main one for me being the director says to call an ambulance. they would have edited that out had she not been really dead–i mean that dialogue just doesn’t fit if she’s still alive. she killed herself for that performance-literally and figuratively. also, she really trained hard to learn some of those difficult ballet moves. the biggest thing helping her before she landed the role was that she’s really into yoga. speaking of which, i think that HAS to help bring you out of your exercise rut. yoga is THE smartest exercise–most cardio exercise are repetitive motion things working and not working the same muscle groups each time leading to MUSCLE IMBALANCES leading to INJURIES. that’s really what you’re supposed injuries stem from. you don’t do enough of the OTHER stuff. did you know the first day i was in northern california-i went to a Bikram yoga class and who was there but the ultra marathon man himself-dean karnazes? also, going with the black swan theme, Pilates is another very very smart exercise. every SINGLE ballet dancer that goes anywhere with it does PIlates–and dancers are some people who use their bodies more than anyone. i dare you to find one person at cirque du soleil who does not do both yoga and Pilates DAILY. if you learn Pilates, you need to go as close to the source as possible -you can’t find people trained by J. Pilates himself but you still can find people trained by his protege Romana. if you learn fake Pilates it’s a waste. most instructors will tell you to engage your core but a lot don’t tell you to zip up your legs or externally rotate your hips during some of the exercises. anyways–you heard it here. if you want to preserve your body and exercise into old age–you need to learn yoga and/or Pilates in a big way today.