Similar Products- Character Analysis 1

Nina- Black Swan

Black Swan is a psychological thriller based in New york. Nina Sayers, played by Natalie Portman is a ballet dancer who strives for perfection and will push herself to the extreme to achieve this. To reach the level of flawlessness she seeks so much comes a great deal of sacrifice. Her greatest desire is to play swan queen and she realizes she must transform herself from an innocent girl into a sensual women. At the beginning of the film she is shown to be very obedient, never goes against the rules and is incredibly innocent. She is often referred to as the 'good girl' by her mother, she works hard but rarely achieves anything. She allows people to push her around and will take a great deal of unfair criticism without a single word. You feel how unhappy she is and how she appears to be helpless and childlike especially when she comes home to her mother where she is treated as if she is a baby who is fragile and unready for the harsh reality of the outside world. As the white swan Nina's morals are clear with strict boundaries on anything to do with lust and desire. She has never been with a man before and she has no intention to do so until she begins to transform herself and allow the darker side to her mind out.

When Nina is awarded the part of the swan queen she is still unable to channel the part of the Black swan out of her. Thomas tells her she needs to lose the sense of perfection and must learn to 'lose herself'. Its these moments with Thomas that Nina realizes the darker side to her nature, she realizes she is no longer a little girl like her mother tells her but she is a women with her own sensual desires and needs. They make it appear that the black swan has been locked up inside Nina all along and as her passion and lust begins to appear she begins to lose herself and her morals are clouded. She no longer has boundaries in her life as shown when Nina decides she wants to break away from her mother, but as her mum tries to protect her. Nina becomes angry and aggressive fighting her mother and acting like a completely different person. That night Nina tries ecstasy influencing the darker side of her to emerge, she fantasies and appears older to the audience. It sometimes appears as if she is fighting a double personality as she has scratches on her back that she has done herself yet she is completely unaware she does it. She is often seen as emotionally unstable and constantly fighting herself in order to get perfection. As the black swan she is bad and misbehaving, she now takes risks and doesn't mind what the consequences will be. Nina suffers from hallucinations of herself transforming into the black swan one is when her knee's break and her eyes turn red showing how violent the changes in her life are effecting her. As the audience we can constantly questioning Nina's sanity, from a girl to a women or from good to evil.