This blog entry will be a mix of both the “have seen the film” and the “have not seen the film” options. Black Swan alone enraged me, but the additional commentary from actors and the director helped fuel my fury.
I could not wait for this film to be released, and I made sure to see it opening weekend. At the time, I was a dance major studying classical ballet, and like all of my peers, was glad to see a dance movie coming out that did not seem to fall victim to the dance-film cliché. This film was dark in a way that is absent from dance films. We were also very interested in the fact that an actress, Natalie Portman, would be dancing in the film instead of a dance-double. This seemed like a nearly impossible feat, as the average ballet dancer spends about 10 years before becoming a professional and ever coming close to the technical ability this film would require. We had our doubts, but wanted to see what she was capable of.
Natalie Portman did not pull off this role. From the very first scene of her dancing it was immediately evident she did not achieve the level of technique necessary for the part. I sat in the theater cringing at shots of her sickled feet and stiff upper body. Not only was I surprised that no one working behind the scenes told her she was not capable of pulling off this role, but I was distracted from the rest of the film. I could not take the movie seriously because it seemed that having an actress fully transform herself into a role was more important than the quality of the film. If Darren Aronfsky wanted to make the best film possible he would have employed a stunt double to do all of the dancing. But he didn’t.
After the film came out and Natalie was praised for her hard work and training, the dancer, Sarah Lane, who actually executed many of the dance scenes came forward because she felt she had not been recognized for her contribution. This made perfect sense. All of the close-up shots of the dancing were horrendous. These frames were when I cringed about the unsightly technique. This was Natalie dancing because it did not involve much technical ability. But still, one cannot fake years of classical ballet training. This also explains why the full-body shots of the dancer were beautiful—it was a real professional dancer dancing them.
Of course Sarah’s reveal about the film caused a lot of controversy, and everyone stuck by Natalie and the hard work she put in. But this film continues to make me angry. There is something so naïve about believing an adult can learn to dance like a classical ballerina in such a short amount of time. This seems insulting to people who have actually put in years of hard work. Additionally, to not acknowledge the person who made Natalie look so good is distasteful. I have never had a reaction like this to a film before, and it is frustrating that peripheral information can change the impact of a film. Granted, I did not like the film because of the poor dancing in some spots (because it made the premise completely unbelievable since the character was not actually a good dancer), but to ask for praise for a job one did not complete is wrong.
The Official Blog of WRTG 3007, Summer 2012 
I’m glad you brought up these points. I don’t know if I would have noticed all the little details that were incorrect. I also think it’s a good point to tie in the story of the actual dancer coming forward. It seems odd that they wouldn’t give her credit for what she did. There seems to be this other-worldly idea of actors and actresses and people don’t always look at the whole picture.
This is an interesting way to look at the film, but it makes complete sense coming from a classical ballet dance major. I would never have analyzed it in the same way, but I like seeing the opposite viewpoints that emerge from different people looking at it from their own individual perspective. I never would have thought the way you did about Natalie Portman’s “dancer” form, but I plan to pay attention to this more when I watch the film again tomorrow. After all you mentioned, I think I might watch some of the movie commentary too just to see what the actors and director had to say about it. Good analysis, and great points!