Top 10 Steps to Self-Discovery for Best Actress Natalie Portman in Black Swan

 

In psycho-sexual thriller Black Swan, Best Actress Natalie Portman transforms herself on film and in real life. These 10 steps to self-discovery show her growth as a woman, a dancer, a daughter and a human being:

1. Daughter to Adult. Portman’s character Nina Sayers breaks away from her overprotective mother (Barbara Hershey). She does whatever it takes to secure the Swan Queen role. “Where is my sweet girl?” Hershey asks. “She’s gone!” Portman screams.  Nina becomes her own woman as she dances in her bedroom filled with stuffed animals and dance figurines.
2. Physical Stamina.  Portman reveals a determined dance martyr who cracks her joints, splits toenails and purges to stay thin. Self-mutilation is a disturbing part of her journey. The star performed much of her own dancing in Black Swan. At the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, Portman described dance as “expression through physicality alone.” She had to master every muscle, including “the detail on how the fingertips move, the eyes, the placement of the head.”
3. Mental Endurance.  Nina has practiced for hours a day since childhood, so it is not a stretch to work even harder to win a leading role. Great performers often lose themselves while immersed in their craft. What is troubling is Nina’s complete loss of self.
4.  Sexuality.  Dance master Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) raises the bar. In his new production of Swan Lake, the star must play both the White and Black swans.  Nina can play the virginal White Swan in a heartbeat, Leroy says.  But can she manage the seductive, lascivious Black Swan? Leroy hits on Nina, using sex to bring her out.
5.  Professional Recognition.  Nina finally secures the Swan Queen role, but intense preparation holds psychological perils. Former company star Beth Macintyre (Winona Ryder) confronts Nina and makes her reel with guilt. Beth is belligerent over her forced retirement, and seems utterly used up and violently crushed.
6.  Sister/Competitor.  Nina allows Lily (Mila Kunis) to befriend her. Lily initiates Nina into the dark side of art and creation as they go out for a night on the town. The two vie for the same role, yet they complement each other. Nina embraces her own dark, hidden desires. Lily is moved ever so slightly by Nina’s genuine innocence.
7.  Genuine Romance.  In real life, Portman fell in love with her co-star and choreographer Benjamin Millepied.  The two are engaged and expecting their first child, a boy, this year.  It’s a fairy tale ending that contrasts with Black Swan’s nightmarish course.
8.  Self-Love: Befriending the Self.  After Black Swan ends, filmgoers are left to consider self-love.  Will Nina ever be able to return to life after her peak experience onstage?
9.  Fame and Success.  Creation. Destruction. Sacrifice.  Black Swan dramatizes the life of a female artist. Society expects much from women. Women may raise that bar even higher. Is success worthwhile when the path demands so much?
10.  Darkness and Light.  Blending nightmare and fairy tale, Director Darren Aronofsky shows a woman who has lost perspective.  The Dance is one part of Nina’s life. She must learn that it is not her whole life. 

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