Ethan_Hunt
Aspiring Novelist
Without a shadow of a doubt, she deserved this award. I had said that (and you can quote me on this) she deserved, both, the Golden Globe and the Oscar for her performance, when I first saw the film. Let's face it, this movie was built around her. Although, it does not mean that the other actors were any less important, but Portman's role had over-shadowed everyone's performance. Her expressions, the amount of hard work gone into learning ballet, the shaping of her character from White Swan to a Dark one, trying to push herself to achieve perfection, emotional ties with her mother, constantly fighting her depression state on being told by Tom that she's too fragile for the role of Black Swan, convincing manner of trying to satisfy her sexual urges etc. are just some of the things I can think off the top off my head. It was like Aronofsky already had a vision that she would nail the character on Nina, which she DID. So I don't see why she should not be appreciated for her performance and get an award.
I stopped caring for Oscar's, as their choices had gone down the stink hole for a bloody long time now. So even if Portman didn't get any award, it wouldn't matter, since it was convincing enough for people to actually take heed of her character and eventually, the movie.
I'll try to answer you queries, which would be restricted to my knowledge, so feel free to discuss further.
1. Does Natalie Portman talk like that in real life too or in other films? So tender, fragile and weak
Nina's role in this movie was supposed to be submissive. She lives with her mother, who is over-protective of her and must have had a very restrictive up-bringing. You can see how her mother treats her like a "child" at every stage and tries to forbid her from taking a night out with Lily. It's pretty evident that she has turned into a fragile person, a form, which she wants to break, by portraying her role as Black Swan. Notice how she has stuffed toys and a neatly made up bed, pretty similar to that of a teenage girl. I have seen her role develop in V for Vendetta, a movie in which she has to go through a rigorous mental (and physical) torture to learn a harsh reality. So don't let her ballerina looks and talk fool you in this movie. After all, what's an actor who cannot make you believe of something which doesn't exist?
2. She is shown having scratches even b4 she gets the role. So can I say that the Black Swan role did not do this to her?
There is no specific indication given in this movie of how she got that rash on her back. You must have heard her mother when she says "You are scratching again", which may signify that she has attempted this before, not necessarily on her back. It might be a way of removing anger by inflitcing pain to self. Disturbed minds often react in a different way and sometimes makes you visualize of certain events which aren't real. If you have seen the movie, Martyrs, then you'll know what I'm talking about. At first I imagined that the rash was just a figment of her imagination, just like a lot of other sequences in this movie, but it wasn't, since her mother obviously noticed it too. The point is not to reflect on how she got the rash, but to reflect on how her hallucinations manifests it at later stages; wings sproutings out, aggravating it further by scratching it, the illusion she has in the washroom etc. It's (the rash) not fully attributed to the role of Black Swan, but to her disturbed mental state.
3. Her mother said once she had this habit of scratching herself long back. So that is not a sudden mental disbalance.
I have explained this in the above point. She must have been under constant pressure and stress for different things, which might have lead to this scratching incident(s). You can see she constantly tries to be a perfectionist and keeps pushing herself to the extremes. It takes a toll on her mind and body.
4. She says she does not have boyfriends. Should I derive anything from this too. How could she not have a boyfriend?
I can't say this with complete certainty, but it could be possible that her closed upbringing might have had some share in this. Nina does tell Tom that she has had 2 boyfriends and mildly agrees that she isn't a virgin, which Tom finds hard to believe. Hence, he instantly tells her to go home and explore her body and enjoy it, which she DOES. So could be possible that she might have not had any sexual gratification before. Another theory that I could possibly derive is that she isn't really interested in men. You can see how she bites Tom's lips the first time he attempts to kiss her, trying to fight back. Her "wet dream" of Lily could enforce this to some extent too. Again, I can't say this with 100% accuracy.
5. I understand she hallucinated the whole lesbian sex and murder scene. For the sex scene she was under drug influence but did she take the drug before the performance?
It's not the drug influence which created the hallucinations. Nina was mentally disturbed; schizophrenic, as some might call it. The drug event just fuelled her imagination a step further into creating the sex scene with Lily. You can see how she lashes out at her mother and shuts the door trying to break free from her. You can also witness the tatoo on Lily's shoulder trying to take a real form, so it's not just the drug influence, it's her mental deformity escalating to the next level. The murder scene was a similar manifetation. She wants the role of Black Swan so bad that she actually imagines killing Lily off and growing those dark wings. She is so obessed with perfectioning the role of the Black Swan, that she actually sees herself performing a dark act and thus moulding from a fragile white Swan to a gruesome Black Swan.
6. What the hell was this movie about.
It was about passion and about achieving perfection in something which you love doing. But like everyone knows, achieving perfection shouldn't be the end goal, as nothing is perfect, so to speak. The movie shows how people put so much pressure on themselves trying to turn themselves into something they're not. At the same time, it speaks of how you can develop alternate realities and allow your mind to create things which aren't real. In an attempt to turn into the "perfect" Black Swan, Nina sacrifices her entire mind and body and it leads to her demise. Her last words to Tom after she falls off the stage were "I felt it. Perfect. I was perfect." Hence, she finally feels perfect and relived from her stress.
There are different ways of interpreting this movie and referencing it with different aspects. In the end, it just depends in what manner you want to digest it.
There are different ways of interpreting this movie and referencing it with different aspects. In the end, it just depends in what manner you want to digest it.
7. There can be only one Lynch.
and one Cameron, one Speilberg, one Nolan and ONE Ethan Hunt. 
Your ratings seem way over the top 
