Playing in cinemas right this minute, and nominated for a whole lotta Oscars, this is a film about a ballet dancer who is pushed further and further into the world of the mentally ill. There's blood and sex and all sorts, as the sweet girl dancer, Nina (as played by Natalie Portman, who is amazing) slowly gives in to her darkest desires.
It's hinted that Nina has an eating disorder- she won't eat much and she's seen being sick. She also doesn't really understand people, she's utterly withdrawn and her fellow ballet dancers see her as an ice-queen bitch. She has no friends besides her mother, who rules her life with an iron fist. And all she really lives for, seemingly, is ballet. She's on the edge, and winning the role of the Swan Queen pushes her over it. To play the White Swan she needs only her talent, but to act the Black Swan she needs sensuality and lust. Her quest to utterly perfect this role sees her have sex with another woman, her rival, Lily (Mila Kunis). Or does she? Reality and fantasy start to blur.
It seems Nina may also have a history of self-harm, picking at her skin- dermatillomania. Throughout the film a rash on her back gets worse: by her final hallucination her whole skin is rash. Whatever mental health problems Nina has, her mother is unhelpful. "I thought you'd gotten over this silly habit,' she shouts at Nina before literally dragging her to the bathroom and trimming her nails.
Nina does get to dance the Black Swan, but her health (physical health, too) is left in tatters. And I won't reveal what happens at the end. But it's a brilliant exploration of an obsessed, battered mind. Only...you know, I felt so sorry for her, and any real-life Ninas. I wish she'd sought help instead of a starring role.
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