The narrative of the film centres around a female ballet dancer Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) that wins the lead role of 'swan lake' who is perfect for the role of the 'white swan', although she feels her role is being snatched from her when a new dancer Lily (Mila Kunis) joins the cast of the show, who seems to be grabbing the attention of the dance teacher who Nina is in love with. Nina starts to believe that Lily is after her and her role and slowly loses her mind as she gets into the character more and more, becoming 'the black swan'.
Nina would be seen as the protagonist throughout the film as she is just a sweet ballet dancer at the beginning desperate to be the best, but throughout the film she becomes in danger of herself more and more which shows us she is in peril. Scenes such as after her performing part 1 of swan lake, she goes into her dressing room to find Lily in there who teases her about how she performed, in anger she throws her against the mirror which is smashed to pieces and has stabbed her in the stomach, only to find out she had actually stabbed herself and not Lily who she had imagined to be there. Nina is controlled by her Dance Teacher Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) throughout the film pressurising her to be better than any one else, forcing her to extreme states of mind, this shows us that she is inferior to him and he calls the shots. Thomas would be the antagonist as he limits her freedom and she feels helpless, although he does not harm her or put her in danger.
The narrative presents ordinary situations where extraordinary things happen such as when Nina is being fitted for her dress, she is standing normally in the mirror being measured, when she notices her reflection turning round and stratching red cuts on her back which are not there and she isn't moving. This is also a theme of seeing reflection and optical illusions which emphasise the mystery of the storyline too, as this usually this wouldnt happen in this situation and makes the audience wonder. Another scene is when she is having an argument with her mum and locks her out her room, and her legs suddenly snap into a swan like shape, this usually wouldnt happen and plays with the audiences minds.
Themes of identity are presented alot in this film, one scene that represents doubling is when Nina is walking through an alley dressed in a fluffy white coat and passes another person who she imagines to be her but is dressed in black, this links to the narrative as she plays a white and a black swan in the film. Also throughout the film she keeps seeing a double of herself in the mirror but doing different things to what she is doing at the time. There is also a scene of Nina in the bath as normal and as she goes under water she opens her eyes and imagines herself glaring down smiling at her from above the water, she suddenly sits up and the double image of herself is gone, this emphasises the psychological mystery of the narrative.
All the micro elements in the film help with the urgency and mystery of the film. The camerawork adds emotion in the scene where she is practising her dance for the lead role there is a close up showing deep expressions on her face suggesting to the audience that she her passion for dancing and getting it right and as if she is terrified of failing. A close up is also shown of Nina with sore bloodshot eyes showing confusion and terror on her face when she pulls a feather out her back as if she is turning into a swan. There is a lot of fast mysterious music during the thrilling and weird scenes, as well as elegant and slow music whilst she is dancing both relating to the scenes well. The camerawork ephasised the events in the scenes such as handheld whilst she is dancing as it follows her whilst she is moving but still showing that she is the object the camera is focusing on. An eyeline match is shown when Nina is staring into the dancing studio, it then shows us Lily who Nina is watching very closely as if she is jealous. The lighting has a great effect on the sub genre of mystery. Throughout the film the lighting is very dramatic and dark leaving the audience on the edge of their seats wondering what is going to happen next. linking in with the narrative, it creates suspense and adds mystery to the scenes. The costumes used in this film add realism to the characters such as the perfect pretty ballet outfit Nina wears, and at the end when she looks as if she almost is a swan with her feathery black dress, bold makeup and huge tiara which tells the audience she is playing the black evil swan. Her white feathery dress and white feathers round her head tell the audience that she is dancing as the white innocent swan, both outfits stand out and show the audience she is the main part.
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