Nina (Natalie Portman) is a ballerina for a New York City company. Her life is completely consumed by dance, like most in the profession. Nina lives with her former ballerina mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) who is very controlling. When director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decides to replace their star ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder), Nina is the first pick.
Nina’s new role brings out a dark side to her as she competes with Lily, since she is the original face of the Black Swan.
- This film is entirely based in different parts of New York City.
- Leroy’s company is based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on Columbus Ave on the West Side.
- The Lincoln Center is also home of the opening dance scenes in West Side Story.
- Nina exits the subway at 103rd Street Station to tell her mother about the exciting news of her new role.
- Nina’s mother, Erica’s, apartments not located on the Upper West Side, it is in Turner Towers, 135 Eastern Parkway, Prospect Heights which faces the north side of Prospect Park in Brooklyn.
- The scene where Nina is introduced to the old Black Swan takes place in the National Museum of the American Indian, which was also featured in Ghostbusters 2.
In 2011, Natalie Portman received the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. The film received up to 5 Oscar nominees and a 2012 Grammy nominee for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media.
