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My Black Swan Analysis Essay

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My Black Swan Analysis

The magnificent "obsession" can be one of two things. It can be a thing of beauty, a gifted ballet dancer gracefully contorting their body to a harmonious pace. But it can also be a thing of darkness, a face of white like Bergman's vision of Death with red, piercing eyes included. Director Darren Aronofsky is no stranger to telling tales of obsession. In fact, most of his films deal with the dueling sides of that fiery driven coin. With Black Swan, his latest film, he once again delves into the mental state of one who is obsessed, and, once again, he creates a thing of visionary brilliance. Black Swan, slow burn though it may be in the former half, quickly transcends both its lead character and her story …show more content…

The same goes for Black Swan, as he, as well as the screenwriters involved, gives us Nina, an innocent girl with a determination. However, the obsession in Black Swan is not directly linked to Nina's desire for celebrity. She doesn't necessarily want to be a dancer but rather is living out a delegated fantasy from her mother, played here with solid enthusiasm by Barbara Hershey. This disconnect—the buffer that is created between Nina and the black swan role—causes you to feel for her even more than any of Aronofky's previous characters. This is her obsession, but it's a means of giving her mother happiness, of finding a balance between what she wants for herself and what will please the person whose fantasy is really being pursued. This relationship, as well as all the relationships in Black Swan, is created with forceful pursuance. It's both in the way Aronofsky shoots his characters as well as the highly gifted actors he incorporates into them. Natalie Portman, always on top of her game, pulls out everything for Nina here. Innocent to edged, mousy to fearless, light to dark, she bulls through the range in performance required of her, but it is pulled off with the absolute grace that is appreciative of the character involved. In this dark masterpiece, she brings the light, and it becomes all the more heart-wrenching when her light begins to fade. This dichotomy and the volatility that

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