9-Frame Analysis of Black Swan

A spotlight shines on a ballerina, dressed in white - showing us that she will soon be established as the main character. the white signifies that she is regarded as pure, a virgin and clean, whilst the ballet pose not only shows what type of performance she is performing, but also that she is incredibly professional, too.

 

The film has been selected by the Toronto and Venice film festivals, as shown via the use of logos with big, capitalised text which contrasts with the dark, black - bird-like feathered background. we later find this out to be because the main character turns into the Black Swan in the performance. the journey from white to black shows that she is turning from being pure and innocent to being evil, possessed and scary.

 

 

In this shot, we see Natalie Portman, who acts the main role, smiling almost with a bit of pain inside her or that she is a bit confused. She has just been given the lead role in Swan Lake and is probably a bit scared, too. Later, we find out that there is some sort of romance between the owner of the play and Natalie Portman's character. 

 

Again, the use of black feathers is slightly unnerving as you still don't know why they're there and what bird they're from. Black-feathered birds are often thought of as crows or ravens, both of whom signify death. so, 'what will happen?' is what you end up asking. the director is also mentioned as the director of past works, The Wrestler and Requiem For a Dream - this could gain extra fans of those movies, if they decided they didn't like it before seeing that a well-acclaimed director would be directing it.

 A female character (played by Mila Kunis) appears, dressed in black and declares that she is to be the understudy. This shakes Natalie Portman's character up and eventually it drives her insane, psychologically. It is interesting to know that Mila Kunis' character is dressed in black, almost as if she is bad or evil, yet we learn later in the show that she is normal, with Natalie Portman's mind playing tricks on her.



 

This love scene seems very forceful from the male character, yet, as we know, he is the owner of the play - so he is using that to his advantage. The lead female character seems reluctant to be romanced and seduced by the man, yet in the film we are told she quite fancies him.

 

This shot shows the beginning of Natalie Portman's character turning on her, via the use of a mirror, cleverly mimicking her until she stops, back to the mirror, and the reflection turns around and smiles, menacingly, whilst she pants and her eyes are teary. Obviously this shows that she is sad and worried, yet we are not sure if it's psychological or not, despite the mirrored-reflection turning around on her, which isn't possible. It also hints that this could be based on a demon-like side to her.

 

My favourite shot is of a broken ballerina, almost mocking Natalie Portman's main character as she finally got the role she wanted, yet let her mind get carried away with itself and not focussed on her job. It is certainly a reference to how she may have thrown away everything, with her apparent psychological barriers.

She pulls out a feather out of her skin and looks at it with teary, bloodshot eyes - almost prompting us to think she has a psychological problem, and reminds us of schizophrenia as if it's someone telling her what to do, despite being asked not to scratch her back earlier, by an elderly character, who we know is her mum, from the movie.