Very Strictly Come Dancing

‘Some people call wrestling the lowest of art forms and some call ballet the highest of art forms, yet there’s something elementally the same,’ says Aronofsky. ‘Mickey Rourke as a wrestler was going through something very similar to Natalie Portman as a ballerina. They’re both artists who use their bodies to express themselves and they’re both threatened by physical injury because their bodies are the only tool they have for expression. What was interesting for me was to find these two connected stories in what might appear to be unconnected worlds.’

Why did he decide to shoot the majority of Black Swan using a single hand-held camera? ‘I was excited to shoot a psychological thriller mostly in hand-held because I couldn’t think of a time when it had been done before,’ he explains. ‘There are sometimes a few scenes in thrillers where you see things from the monster’s point of view with a hand-held camera, but to do the whole thing hand-held in a documentary style felt unique.

‘I also felt that bringing a hand-held camera into the ballet world would help to get inside it, as we’d done with the wrestling ring in The Wrestler. The camera is dancing and spinning with the dancers. It captures the energy, the sweat, the pain and the artistry close up.’

Mirrors play a significant role in the look of the film. Why is this? ‘In the world of ballet, there are mirrors everywhere,’ says Aronofsky. ‘Dancers are always looking at themselves, so their relationship with their reflection is a huge part of who they are. Filmmakers are also fascinated by mirrors and it’s been played with before, but I wanted to take it to a new level. Visually, we really pushed that idea of what it means to look in a mirror. Mirrors become a big part of looking into Nina’s character, which is all about doubles and reflection.’

As well as Natalie Portman, Black Swan’s intriguing cast includes Vincent Cassell, Winona Ryder and Hollywood hot property du jour Mila Kunis. Aronofsky is effusive about the film's assembled talent. ‘Ballet is something that most people start training for when they’re four or five years old because it transforms their bodies, yet with her incredible will and discipline Natalie became a dancer,’ he says. ‘It took 10 months of vigorous work, but her body transformed and even the most serious dancers were impressed. The role is quite different from anything she's done before and she took it to another level.

‘Vincent is one of my favourite actors on the planet. I’m a big fan of his work. Here, he plays a Machiavellian character – an artistic director who doesn’t care about the victims he leaves along the way. He was wonderful to work with because he moves so beautifully. Mila plays someone who’s much freer, more alive and more sexual than Nina. Because Winona’s such a superstar herself, she was fantastic for the role of the famous ballerina who’s being pushed out as Nina steps in to replace her.

‘We started out knowing very little about ballet, about how to shoot it and how to get people excited by it,’ Aronofsky admits. ‘But I think the film really works to connect people to the art form and make it accessible.’

Black Swan screens at the London Film Festival on the 22nd, 24th and 25th October. For more details, visit www.bfi.org.uk/lff/.

(With thanks to the BFI and the London Film Festival)

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here