Director
Darren Aronofsky
Leading Actors/Actresses
Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Vincent Cassel, Barbra Hershey, Winona Ryder, and Benjamin Millepied
Genre
Psychological Horror
Language
English
Awards
Won Academy Awards for: Best Actress in Portman and Best Picture; nominated for: directing, cinematography, and film editing
Date of Release
3 December 2010
Producer
Arnold W Messer, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin, and Mike Medavoy
Setting and Context
New York, the early 2000's
Narrator and Point of View
Through the point of view of Portman's Nina Sayers
Tone and Mood
Ominous, dark, brooding, exasperated, tense, hallucinatory, depressing, horrific, mind-altering, violent, stylized, and panicked
Protagonist and Antagonist
Nina vs. her inner demons/herself
Major Conflict
The conflict between Nina and herself (her drive to be successful being interrupted by mental illness)
Climax
When Nina breaks down at the ballet and becomes the black swan
Foreshadowing
Nina's descent into madness is foreshadowed at the start of the film in the contents of her room/in her room in general
Nina's ultimate breakdown is foreshadowed by her hallucinations
Understatement
Nina understates her mental condition to her mother consistently throughout the film
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
While nominated for an Academy Award and shot exceptionally well, this film is not innovative in its lighting or camera work
Allusions
Allusions to childhood, other films, New York and its history, other history, performance arts, art in general, dance and dance history, and to fairy tales.
Paradox
No significant instances of paradox
Parallelism
Nina's path to madness is paralleled by her burgeoning career in its intensity.
