Common Sense Media Review
By S. Jhoanna Robledo
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Magnificent, macabre thriller about the price of ambition.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Black Swan
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 36 parent reviews
Parents say that this movie, while praised for its brilliant performances, particularly by Natalie Portman, contains intense psychological themes and explicit sexual content that make it unsuitable for younger audiences, generally recommending viewers be at least 15 or older. The film explores the dark consequences of striving for perfection and the pressures of competitive environments, with many reviews highlighting its disturbing atmosphere and graphic elements, prompting a mixed reception regarding its appropriateness for teens.
- mature audiences only
- intense themes
- graphic content
- psychological thriller
- strong performances
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
Based on 90 kid reviews
Kids say the movie is a brilliant yet disturbing psychological thriller that explores themes of obsession and perfection through the life of a young ballerina. While praised for its stunning performances and cinematography, many reviews caution it's not suitable for younger audiences due to its dark content, graphic violence, and explicit sexual scenes.
- intense performances
- mature themes
- disturbing content
- not for children
- psychological thriller
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
BLACK SWAN follows Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), a dancer who lives for ballet. She's an ambitious but joyless dancer who's both afraid to fail and afraid to succeed. Her mother (Barbara Hershey), a former dancer, worries that the pressure will break Nina, but she doesn't recognize how her vise-like grip on her daughter's life is harmful, too. When manipulative choreographer Thomas (Vincent Cassel) plucks Nina from the corps and gives her the role of the Black Swan in Swan Lake, Nina can almost taste triumph. But it weighs her down immediately. She's afraid she won't live up to Thomas' expectations. And she's certain that a new dancer, Lily (Mila Kunis), is after her part, a conviction that strengthens when Thomas makes the other dancer Nina's understudy. Watching Beth (Winona Ryder), whom Nina herself replaced, self-destruct only serves to emphasize the stakes. Worse, Nina's demons—the drive to purge, the need to hurt, and more—are coming alive.
Is It Any Good?
This is a grueling, tragic, and gripping film about a ballerina's quest for perfection at the expense of personality and sanity. In Black Swan, director Darren Aronofsky dances between beauty and blight, juxtaposing familiar ballet images (poised dancers with their lithe limbs and pintucked buns, impossibly balanced on the tips of their pink-shoed toes) with horrific ones (bleeding toenails, bony spines, skin scratched raw). The effect is unsettling, even frightening.
The actors are in fine form: Kunis is bold and electrifying; Hershey, disquieting; Cassel, layered. Only Ryder, as a washed-up dancer, wobbles, playing Beth with an assured yet predictable touch. However, the movie really belongs to Portman. Her Nina is devastatingly fearful, dispiritingly fragile. She has command of her body but not her mind, and Portman, committed from first pirouette to the final moment, disappears. Only Nina remains. It's a thrilling drama, albeit one that's best suited for adults and older teenagers.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the messages that Black Swan sends about committing yourself to something. When is focusing on one passion, talent, or dream healthy, and when does it go too far?
Do the consequences of the characters' behavior in this movie seem realistic? Have you ever seen anything similar happen to anyone you know?
Is Nina's relationship to ballet healthy? Does the film unmask anything about the world of ballet?
Movie Details
- In theaters : December 3, 2010
- On DVD or streaming : March 29, 2011
- Cast : Barbara Hershey , Mila Kunis , Natalie Portman , Vincent Cassel
- Director : Darren Aronofsky
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Fox Searchlight
- Genre : Thriller
- Topics : Arts
- Run time : 110 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : strong sexual content, disturbing violent images, language and some drug use
- Awards : Academy Award - Best Picture Nominee , Academy Award - Other Category Winner , Academy Award - Other Category Nominee , BAFTA - BAFTA Winner , BAFTA - BAFTA Nominee , Golden Globe - Golden Globe Award Winner , Golden Globe - Golden Globe Award Nominee
- Last updated : December 11, 2025
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