Black Swan

A closer look at the story

Black Swan follows Nina, a gifted young ballerina whose entire life revolves around dance. She lives in New York with her mother, once a ballerina herself, who has passed her own ambition on to her daughter. Director Thomas Leroy decides that his staging of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake needs a new lead dancer for the coming season. He is looking for a dancer who can embody both the innocent White Swan and the Black Swan, a figure of darkness and desire, and Nina is his choice. Yet while she is luminous as the White Swan, she cannot seem to capture the spirit of her dark counterpart. Lily, who dances that part with far greater ease, emerges as a formidable rival, and over the rehearsals their competition turns into an unsettling friendship. As the pressure of the lead role mounts, Nina struggles to hold on to her sanity and begins to confront a darker side of herself. Darren Aronofsky directed this 108-minute drama thriller from 2010, written by Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz and John J. McLaughlin. Natalie Portman plays Nina, Mila Kunis plays Lily and Vincent Cassel plays Thomas Leroy, with Barbara Hershey and Winona Ryder also appearing.