Black Swan

Nina Sayers is a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. Her dream is to play the lead Swan in Swan Lake and when she gets the role she learns that the part calls for her to play the parts of both the White Swan and the darker Black Swan. But the latter proves more difficult and the story follows her mental and emotional struggle, feeling pressured to do well, among other things. Throughout the film, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side- a recklessness that threatens to destroy her as she strives for perfection. 



Main Characters:


Nina Sayers played by Natalie Portman (the protagonist)- is a fragile and mentally unstable girl which is a typical character in the psychological thriller genre. The characters in these films are never mentally stable causing them to do the things they do. 

Lily played by Mila Kunis- Is a very ideological character and has everything it takes to be the Black swan that Nina so desperately wants to master. She is very mysterious and rebellious as well as sensual that links to sin and is therefore very common of a psychological thriller.

Thomas Leroy played by Vincent Cassel- Is the artistic director of the ballet in the film, his character lures Nina into the dark side and acts as a sort of devil together with Lily that lead to her to insanity. He is quite selfish in the sense that he doesn't care about her, he only cares about the show. Evil and selfishness are convention of a psychological thriller. 


Natalie Portman has worked in other Thrillers such as 'V for Vendetta' and 'Leon' so she is quite familiar in the genre. She was chosen for the role because of her incredible acting skills and her ability to mould into troubled characters. 

In this film, you would expect themes such as insanity, loss of control, determination, pain, evil, mystery, confusion and fear because these are all typical themes in a psychological thriller.

You would expect a mellow setting in this film; the typical cold and cloudy atmosphere in a rural area. This is a common setting in this genre of film. The film is actually set in New York city, which is a rural setting and there is a clear cold atmosphere as the cloudy sky adds to the wind. Most of the filming outside actually takes place in the dark or with low lighting, again linking to the genre. It is also typical that she is mostly alone in the film connoting her vulnerability and the fact that she had no ones help while she was combatting her inner self throughout the film. 

Other films that portray an inner struggle with themselves could include 'Fight Club'.