STORY STUDY (HORROR MONTH) - MEDIUM: FILM - “Black Swan”
This week’s post will be exploring a film that is not a traditional horror film, but I think if given the chance, you can tell why it could be considered as one.
Black Swan is directed by Darren Aronofsky, screenplay by John McLaughlin, Mark Heyman, and Andres Heinz, and story by Heinz.
The film is about Nina Sayers, a ballet dancer in a New York ballet company. The director of the company, Thomas, has announced that his next production will be Swan Lake, and he has chosen Nina to be the White Swan/Black Swan.
Nina is a perfectionist, full of grace and control, which makes the role of the White Swan perfect for her. However, her Black Swan, who is supposed to be seductive and wild, needs a lot of work. Enter Lily, a new dancer at the company (she arrived the same time Swan Lake was announced as the next production). Her personality is close to that of the Black Swan, and Thomas makes note of it, and suggests Nina that she do the same.
As time passes, Nina and Lily have chance encounters, and they slowly connect, although Nina is always nervous about Lily’s behavior.
Throughout the entire film, Nina experiences hallucinations of bleeding from cuts and being stalked by someone who looks like her.
The story and characters are supposedly representative to the actual Swan Lake ballet, but we won’t explore that; only what the film gives the audience… and boy, there’s some pretty messed up stuff.
For me, personally, it’s bad enough that, if done right, I freak out at jump scares (which Black Swan has), but I get easily grossed out at body horror. There is a lot of body horror done to Nina, which includes cutting her skin (which she accidently does when she cuts her nails with a nail scissor) to ripping off the nail of her skin (which I always have to look away when that scene happens.) Bone cracking is cringe worthy, even though I know ballet dancers go through that (and much, MUCH more) on a daily basis.
There are some questions I have that are never really answered in the film.
Thomas says that Nina doesn’t have what it takes to embody the White Swan and Black Swan characters. He makes out with her out of nowhere ( [sarcastic tone] of course) to gauge her reaction to it, which is her biting his lip. This, somehow, give him the final push to cast her.
That’s already confusing, but that’s not what confuses me. As the film progresses, so does the rehearsal of Swan Lake. The film shows specifically Nina’s rehearsal. Every scene Nina rehearses, Thomas is unsatisfied with her performance. It’s only until the opening night performance is when he’s actually impressed, when Nina has fully embraced her craziness (spoilers).
So… why keep her in the role at all? If a director is unsatisfied with an actor’s role, especially early on, they would easily replace them. Back to the Future’s production history will tell you that.
And in case you’re wondering, no, he was not sleeping with her. There are make-out sessions, but that was just to try to get Nina in the right mindset. There is no “I’m sleeping with him to stay in this part” motivation going on here.
However, despite all that, I am still mesmerized by this film. It does the psychological thriller and especially the horror part right.
I remember being aware of this film when it came out, when it was considered a heavy contender for Oscars. I went to watch it with two female friends. We were impressed by it, but it did get a little awkward. Anyone who knows anything about the film knows exactly what I’m talking about.
You don’t have to know, or have any interest in ballet to enjoy Black Swan (despite what naysayers have to say about the cliché ballet world that the film portrays). It’s essentially a character study about how one’s sanity can suddenly break when there’s so much pressure on their shoulders.
Give it a watch, and always make sure to cut your nails.
