The protagonists in Polanski movies are mostly involuntary, controlled by the environment and influenced by others, just like the heroine Nina in Darren's "Black Swan". In the first half of the film, Nina is a restrained, calm and fragile woman, but the desire to fight for the role pushes her into Thomas' office and pushes her to the peak of pressure. At first, Thomas was not satisfied with Nina's interpretation of the black swan. He thought she was not ruthless and sexy enough, did not release her emotions and could not lose herself, but still chose her to become the new Swan Queen. Nina was surprised at her selection, which caused her to be extremely unconfident and insecure throughout the entire rehearsal process. Although she wanted to make up for it through hard training, she still could not perfectly interpret the black swan. At this time, Nina was in a position Technology no longer works a state in which you can no longer control. As a result, various external forces composed of characters and events began to work, step by step to stimulate or suppress the dark forces in the depths of Nina's human nature, and Nina was passively involved in the center of the storm of black and white wrestling.
Thomas is an interesting character, he is like a gray character in the film so that Nina also makes the audience unable to distinguish his intentions. The strong kiss in the office, the homework of masturbation, and the active temptation of the dance studio may be a series of harassment because of his desire for possession of Nina, but at the same time it can be interpreted as a kind of unconventional guiding Nina to interpret the black swan. means. In any case, it was Thomas who successfully released Nina's desire to be eager to be fascinated and valued and desperate to pursue perfection. Similar sexual cues are the old man on the subway masturbating and teasing NIna.
Mother is a woman with a strong desire for control and even a little bit paranoid. In many cases, she is like a villain, because her love is like a shackle tightly wrapped around Nina's neck and she can't breathe. Before, Thomas was working hard to release, and at the same time, his mother was indirectly restraining and confining Nina's dark desires. For example, in the scene where Nina was masturbating early in the morning, when she let herself indulge in sexual pleasure, she suddenly found her mother sleeping beside the bed and was forced to stop in panic. After discovering the scratches on Nina's back, the mother forced her to cut Nina's fingertips short. However, those scars were a sign that the black swan was about to be released, and her mother's behavior was undoubtedly preventing it from happening. Therefore, the role of mother can be interpreted as the only family affection and love that can restrain the dark side in the contest between white and black human nature, but this time it is a pity that the power that promotes the growth of darkness is even greater. Therefore, in the scene of the death of the white swan at the end, all Nina saw in her eyes was the tearful mother who was full of love and compassion in the stands.
Beth is the former Swan Queen. Nina witnessed Beth's unwillingness and anger, as well as the ambiguity with Thomas at the starring candidate release party. After Beth was in a car accident, Thomas hinted that Beth is very likely to commit suicide, which made Nina discover that she might be the third party between Beth and Thomas, that is, the black swan in "Swan Lake". This kind of thinking undoubtedly promoted the emergence of the black swan.
Lili actually has two in the film, one is a real competitor, and the other is an enemy that Nina imagined after the split personality. As a real competitor, Lili always looks rebellious and indulgent, wearing black, the opposite of Nina. This more or less gave Nina a hint of "she blacks me white". On the night in the nightclub, Lili spared no effort to persuade Nina to indulge herself, and even took a black dress for Nina to wear. Maybe it was just accident, but when Nina changed into that black suit in the toilet, it seemed to herald that the black swan in her heart had been born and started to grow. In the last part of the film, whether it is real competition or fantasy betrayal, Lili always plays an important driving force to lure the emergence of black swan. This black swan sometimes transformed into an imaginary enemy Lili in Nina's heart, and sometimes became another Nina. In the murder in the dressing room, Hei Tian turned into an imaginary enemy Lili and angered Nina, making her think that she killed the competitor so that she could perfectly interpret the black swan on the stage.
Like Polanski's "Strange Tenants" and "Shadow Writer", it replaces the previous random tastes and hints and repeats the same mistakes. The former Swan Queen Beth was furious when she learned that she was about to be replaced and slammed the door away. At this time, Nina, who was peeking from the side, sneaked in and stole some of Beth's personal items such as lipstick and a knife. This constitutes Nina's "proactive suggestion" to herself to become the second Beth. Later, Beth's car accident and the plot of "Swan Lake" implied that the white swan could only find relief and freedom by death. So in the end, Nina fell in a pool of blood and said that she was finally perfect. She successfully killed the imaginary enemy and became a black swan doing her part, and at the same time, she achieved ultimate relief through "forced suicide".
"Black Swan" is actually a darker personality of Nina, who is always looking for an opportunity to emerge from the cocoon. When Nina stood between the two mirrors, he saw one of the countless selves in the mirror was scratching his back. In fact, the black swan wanted to tear Nina's body so that its wings could flutter and fly recklessly. A scene where Nina confronted her mother after returning from the nightclub was that there was only one Nina in the mirror, but suddenly a Lili split out. The latter ran to the bedroom door to lure Nina against her mother. Mirrors have always been the best props for expressing split personality. The whole film of "Black Swan" is full of various mirrors. Darren has almost perfectly used the characteristics of mirrors and multi-sided mirrors to construct amazing, human shadows are intertwined like illusions. Non-illusory visual effects.
Color is also fully utilized. White represents purity and purity, and Nina's clothing in the first half of the film is mostly white. On the contrary, black represents a more indulgent and even evil human nature, which is the keynote of Lili and Nina in the second half of the film. As mentioned above, Thomas is a gray figure, so many scenes he appears are composed of black and white. For example, he is wearing a white shirt sitting in a pair of black chairs. For example, the decoration tone of his home is also composed of black and white. The third color of the film, pink, seems to represent restraint and imprisonment. The tutu, Nina bedroom, Beth’s ward, etc. are all pink.
The surreal imaginary scenes have become classics in "Strange Tenants" and "Cold Blood", "Black Swan" The last part of "also has very good similar scenes, such as the black wings emerging from the cocoon, the suddenly broken legs, and the feathers gradually covering the whole body. They are all impressive enough to be unforgettable.
This is what I can think of for the time being. Darren’s editing and the use of the soundtrack in the film are still great, and the photography is even more important. Natalie Portman’s acting skills in the film, who stole the limelight of the film itself, have been heard in the film, but still let it. I felt unexpectedly wonderful and shocked, and I urged her to take the shadow queen.
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