Black Swan is a 2010 American
psychological thriller film directed by
Darren Aronofsky and starring
Natalie Portman,
Vincent Cassel, and
Mila Kunis. Its plot revolves around a production of
Tchaikovsky's
Swan Lakeballet by a prestigious
New York City company. The production requires a ballerina to play both the innocent White Swan and the sensual Black Swan. One dancer, Nina (Portman), is a perfect fit for the White Swan, while Lily (Kunis) has a personality that matches the Black Swan. When the two compete for the parts, Nina finds a dark side to herself.
Aronofsky conceived the premise by connecting his viewings of a production of
Swan Lake with an unrealized screenplay about
understudies and the notion of being haunted by a double, similar to the folklore surrounding
doppelgängers. Aronofsky cites Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "
The Double" as another inspiration for the film. The director also considered
Black Swan a companion piece to his 2008 film
The Wrestler, with both films involving demanding performances for different kinds of art. He and Portman first discussed the project in 2000, and after a brief attachment to
Universal Studios,
Black Swan was produced in New York City in 2009 by
Fox Searchlight Pictures. Portman and Kunis trained in ballet for several months prior to filming and notable figures from the ballet world helped with film production to shape the ballet presentation.
The film premiered as the opening film for the
67th Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2010. It had a
limited release in the United States starting December 3, 2010 and opened nationwide on December 17.
Black Swan received critical praise upon its release, particularly for Portman's performance and Aronofsky's direction. Portman won the
Academy Award for Best Actress for the film, as well as many other Best Actress awards in several guilds and festivals, while Aronofsky was nominated for
Best Director. In addition, the film itself received a nomination for
Best Picture.
Some picture from this film: