Black Swan (2010)
"I just want to be perfect."
A committed dancer struggles to maintain her sanity after winning the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake."
| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 3 December 2010 |
| Genre | Drama, Thriller, Horror |
| Director | Darren Aronofsky |
| Starring | Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassel |
| Runtime | 108 min |
| Rated | R |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 8.2/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 85% · Metacritic 79/100 · TMDB users 7.7/10 |
| Budget | $13 million |
| Box office | $329 million worldwide |
Where to watch Black Swan
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What kind of watch this is
Darren Aronofsky directs this 108-minute drama-thriller, which leans into the psychological horror of perfection. The hook is the tagline itself: "I just want to be perfect." That single desire drives the protagonist to dismantle her own stability. Natalie Portman carries the weight of the role, with Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassel orbiting her decline. It is a film about the cost of excellence, stripped of any safe distance. The mirror does not lie.
What the critics said
Critics mostly liked it, though the intensity rubbed some the wrong way. Rotten Tomatoes lists an 85% approval rating as of March 2024. Metacritic sits at 79 out of 100, indicating generally positive reviews. The consensus calls the direction bold and Portman’s performance a bravura tour-de-force. Not everyone was swept away. Kurt Loder of Reason found it wonderfully creepy, though not entirely satisfying. He saw the director’s creative brio. The film divided critics. Some found its theatricality maddening, but most declared themselves swept away.
How it did with audiences
Black Swan cost $13 million and took $329 million worldwide, a spread that turns a modest budget into a serious line item for Fox Searchlight. It opened in just 18 theaters, but the per-screen average was so high it briefly sat second only to The King's Speech for the weekend. That early momentum carried it to $107 million domestically. On TMDB, users rate it 7.7 out of 10.
What came next for the cast
Natalie Portman moved from Léon and Phantom Menace into the MCU. Mila Kunis shifted from Forgetting Sarah Marshall to Ted. Barbara Hershey jumped from Falling Down to the Insidious franchise. These are not cause and effect, just adjacent steps in long careers. The film does not own their trajectories. It sits in the middle, a specific point on a longer line.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Black Swan.
Sources
- Black Swan on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q180214 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Black Swan (film)” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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