One of the most effective tools a filmmaker can use is
establishing a characters duality. Throwing together characters who are opposites
can instantly interest a viewer to what traits a character truly has and
what ones they don't.
Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan is a film rife with duality.
Present in the film is Natalie Portman’s innocent Nina and Mila Kunis’
promiscuous Lily, the ballet characters of the White Swan and the Black Swan. There
are many mirrors and reflections used to show the two sides of a character.
Also black and white is used frequently to show opposites of a character.
Duality is important in this film because Nina’s desire to attain the traits
she lacks is what moves forward her character.
Nina and lily are a duality in themselves. Nina is the sweet one who doesn't
want to disappoint her mother while Lily is the anti-character to the innocence
that Nina oozes, bathed in both a figurative and literal darkness. She leads
Nina to the “corruptions” of society and towards the other end of Nina’s own naïve
and innocent actions as seen when Lily drags Nina to a club. The scene is
congested with smoke and bodies, meshed together in a chaotic scramble that
leaves the viewer looking for some semblance of order. The dark patches of
shadow that surround the entirety of their shot only help to emphasize the
matter of the “evil” in the scene: bars and drugs. It’s a side that sweet little
Nina has never been exposed to and to introduce her character into the mess in
such a disordered scene is a technique Aronofsky uses to slap his viewers
upside the head like Nina’s own character experiences.
The movie Black Swan has great meaning behind it. Even though controversial aspects of the movie I don't believe are needed to display the message that it is trying to sent, It overall is a very well done movie. I agree that the way duality is used in this film is amazing. One scene that really sticks out to me in this film is when they are at the night club and Nina is exposed to a whole new setting. The camera work was really shaky and it kept bouncy around from different scenes which made the elements of confusion and craziness are strong in this scene.Like Kelsey mentioned in the original Nina is the innocent one who is still trying to find herself, and Nina is more on the edge and trying to get Lily to test her boundaries with a whole new setting that she isn't used to. Not only is the camera work important here but so is editing. The way the scenes are cut during this scene also helps you relate to the character. When directors use camera techniques that correspond it really can draw people in and it sticks out.
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