Black Swan Film Analysis

During a lesson with my class, we where asked to analyse a thriller convention film called Black Swan, this was so that this could help us when we start researching for our own thriller opening ideas. 

Analysis; 




Black Swan is a psychological thriller based around a girl named Nina (played by Natalie Portman). Nina was experiencing a mental illness, this was because of the pressures in her life for example her controlling mum and her ballet career. The film makes it unclear on whether the things happening in Nina's life are real or not. This gives the film suspense and makes it interesting to watch, however it can come across as confusing for the audience. During the film Nina has the opportunity to take up the role of "Swan Queen" in the popular story/show Black Swan. Although she wanted this part, it meant that her mental illness was getting worse and taking over her life. Although Nina was 28 years old, she still lived with her mum who liked to control her life. Her mother treated her like a child and came across as over protective. This was clear to the audience because of elements of the film such as the setting. Nina's bedroom came across as very childish due to props in her room such as teddy bears and her ballerina music box. It was clear that Nina's mental illness was partly caused by her mother, in parts of the film Nina's mum told her she couldn't go out, she made sure that she knew everything about Nina and didn't understand her feelings. Aspects of the film represented Nina's anger towards her mother for example when she goes out against her mums wishes and hurts/ hits her. It was made aware that Nina couldn't deal with her mums ways anymore and therefore she rebelled and did everything her mum didn't want her to do for example go to clubs and get drunk instead of focusing on her dancing career. In addition to this the film made it aware that her dancing/ ballet career was very stressful. She wanted to be "perfect" which lead to her feeling stressed and upset. The story line mainly focuses on Nina and her life and not much else, it is always about how she is feeling to represent the fact that her mental disorder had taken over her life. 

The film is very dark and mysterious, this makes it interesting for the audience because you are unaware of what is going to happen next. The audience were always un sure on what was Nina's reality and what was made up in her head. An element that represented the darkness of the film was the editing techniques used. There were many scenes that used editing for example Nina's visions e.g. her scratching her back, and her bones breaking. In real life we all no this would never happen, however the editing has done a good job to make it seem realistic in the film. The mise en scene in the film is very good and effective for example the ballerina costumes, the black swans costume and the low key lighting. They used this lighting to make the film dark and represent the fact that Nina was going through a bad time. In addition to this the camera work created suspense e.g. the shots were very quick and the editing of the cuts were also fast. The sound in the film created tension, it made the audience feel sorry for Nina and worried about what was going to happen to her next. Most of the sound was non- diegetic this was because a lot of the time the things happening to Nina were created in her head and not in real life. The sound matched with the scene and gave a good effect, it also made the audience aware of what was happening in a scene. 

Overall I enjoyed Black Swan. It created tension when I was watching the film, and made me feel sympathy for the main character. I think that the film raises awareness of mental issues/ disorders and goes against stereotypes in traditional films for example the main character is not usually viewed as weak and in distress. I think it represents the fact that not everybody's lives are perfect, it also shows that not everyone with there dream career and life is necessarily happy. I would like to use some of the effects they use in Black Swan in my thriller opening, for example the mystery and tension created with the use of camera work and sound.