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Black Swan | 2010 | R | - 8.8.6
Natalie Portman stars as a ballet dancer who is so intent on landing the role of the Swan Queen in a production that she finds herself in a world where her imagination takes control, with violent results. Also with Mila Kunis, Winona Ryder, Barbara Hershey and Vincent Cassel. Directed by Darren Aronofsky. [1:43]
SEX/NUDITY 8 - Two women kiss passionately and remove each other's clothing (we see them in bras and panties, showing cleavage, bare shoulders, abdomen and legs): they lie back on a bed and continue kissing, one kisses the other down the chest and abdomen and we see her head between the other woman's legs moving rhythmically and performing oral sex on her (the other moans and climaxes).
► A woman sees a man and another woman kissing passionately and having sex on a table; we see the man thrusting on top of the woman, who is shown wearing a bra and skirt (cleavage, bare shoulders and abdomen are visible) while he is bare-chested.
► A woman masturbates under a comforter (we see movement under the cover), she moans and writhes, she turns on her stomach (we see part of he bare back and her panty covered buttocks) and thrusts on the bed; she stops abruptly when she realizes there is someone else in the room.
► A man and a woman kiss passionately, he caresses her clothed breasts and between her legs, and then stops and walks away. A man and a woman kiss passionately and she bites his tongue (he pulls away and yells at her). A woman touches herself while sitting in a bathtub (her upper chest and abdomen are visible), she moans briefly and stops. A man and a woman kiss passionately in the hallway of a crowded nightclub, and the woman pushes the man away and leaves. A woman touches another woman between the legs; the woman moans and stops her.
► A woman caresses a man's clothed crotch. An older man on a subway train makes kissing sounds toward a woman, and then touches himself on the crotch and makes sexual gestures toward her.
► Men and women dance together and kiss on the dance floor of a crowded nightclub. There are several dance sequences where a man and a woman touch each other and dance closely with suggestive gestures.
► We see a woman wearing only panties (her bare back and legs are visible and she crosses her arms over her breasts). Women wear low-cut tops and dresses that reveal cleavage and bare backs and shoulders in several scenes throughout the movie. A woman wears a strapless dress that reveals cleavage, bare upper chest and shoulders and back in a number of dance sequences. A woman wears a nightgown that reveals bare shoulders and cleavage. A woman is wrapped in a towel and reveals bare shoulders and upper chest. A woman removes her panties and puts them in her purse while in a restroom with another woman (we don't see any nudity and nothing sexual is implied). A woman pulls a slinky top of her bag and gives it to another woman for her to wear. We see the statue of what looks like a nude human male (no genitals) with large wings and a mask on his face.
► A woman flirts with a man and he reciprocates. A man tells a woman she is beautiful. A woman asks another woman if she had a "lezzy wet dream about her" and "was I good?" A woman asks another woman what she has been doing and she replies, "Do you want their names?" A woman introduces two men as "gay lovers." A man tells a woman to "go home and touch yourself." A woman asks another woman if she let a man perform oral sex on her and how he was. A man takes a woman to his apartment and they talk; he asks her if she has a boyfriend, if she is a virgin and if she enjoys sex. A woman says to another woman, "He said you were frigid." A woman says to another woman "someone's hot for teacher." A woman asks another woman, using crude terms, if she performed oral sex on a man. A man describes a story and says, "A lustful twin seduces him." People talk about a woman as "approaching menopause." A remark is made about a woman needing to "find someone new" (implying a new sexual relationship). A woman finds an insulting, sexually suggestive word written on a mirror in lipstick.
VIOLENCE/GORE 8 - A woman stabs herself repeatedly in the face and neck with a nail file (blood spurts and smears), another woman in the room runs out and we see blood on her hands.
► Two women fight: one slams the other into a mirror shattering it, one chokes the other (we see her hands squeezing around the neck and the neck stretches and changes shape), and one woman stabs the other in the abdomen with a mirror shard (we see blood on her abdomen and running from her nose) and the victim lies motionless.
► A woman notices blood on her finger and picks at some loose skin, then pulls a large piece of skin off the finger and we see blood and the skin pulling away. A woman cuts her own fingernails and cuts her finger (we see blood on her finger and she winces). A woman's leg snaps backward at the knee and she falls, hitting her head on a bed (we see her later with a bruise on her head but otherwise fine). A woman dances and we hear a crack, she unfastens her shoe and we see a split and bloody toe nail.
► We see a woman in a hospital bed and she has bruises and cuts on her face, another woman lifts a sheet covering her legs, we see a metal brace attached to her leg (bloody entry wounds are shown) and a large, bloody gash on her lower leg.
► We see a large pool of blood under a doorway (implying that there is a dead body behind the door). A woman touches scratch marks on her back and blood trickles from them.
► A woman slams another woman's hand in a door (we hear a crunch and the woman screams). A woman squeezes another woman's already injured hand (we hear a crunch). A woman hits another woman in the face and yells at her. A woman confronts another woman and accuses her of having sex with a man to get a part. A woman yells and throws things in a dressing room (we hear braking glass).
► A woman's skin bubbles and feathers burst through covering her back and arms (there's no blood). A woman's back cracks and we see bumps forming as small feathers push through the flesh; she pulls one out and her eyes turn deep red. A woman imagines a man transforming into a dark figure that resembles a bird in a few scenes. A woman imagines paintings hanging on a wall becoming animated and yelling at her (she tears them down and runs out of the room). A woman in a bathtub imagines another woman leaning over her, with blood dripping into the tub and blood on her hand. Two women walk toward each other in a deserted city passage way and one of the women appears frightened as they pass each other. A woman pulls a shard of mirror out of her abdomen (we see blood on her clothing and the spot grows). A woman imagines seeing someone else in her reflection in a mirror. A woman's reflection moves differently from the way he moves. A woman appears frightened while dancing and a male dancer approaches her wearing dark makeup. A woman is frightened when the lights go out in a theater and she hears noises.
► A woman notices bumps on another woman's back in a few scenes and there is a reference to the young woman having scratched herself until she bled; in one such scene the woman cuts the other woman's fingernails while scolding her. A woman finds that her toes have grown together and pulls them apart (we see skin pulling, but no blood; we hear ripping). A man and a woman kiss passionately and she bites his tongue (he pulls away and yells at her).
► A woman cuts another woman's fingernails and snips too closely (she woman flinches, but there is no blood). We see the scabbed and bruised feet of ballet dancers in a few scenes. A woman stretches and we hear cracking and popping. A woman massages another woman; we see her pushing her hand deep into the woman's ribs and then pushing and pulling on her legs and feet (we hear cracking). A woman falls on a stage while dancing and claims that her dancing partner dropped her. A woman falls off a stage and onto a mattress a couple of times (she is apprehensive) and is unharmed.
► A woman talks about a story and says that a character "kills herself." We hear that a woman walked into a street and was hit by a car.
► A woman vomits (we hear splatter, gagging and we see goo). We see a woman's feet under a bathroom stall and hear a splatter in the toilet (we understand that she is vomiting but do not see anything). A woman gags over a toilet (we do not see any goo).
LANGUAGE 6 - About 15 F-words, 10 sexual reference, 3 scatological terms, 2 anatomical terms, mild obscenities, name-calling (coward), 3 religious exclamations.
SUBSTANCE USE - A woman offers a pill to another woman (it's not clear what it is) who does not take it but the first woman does, and a woman empties a capsule into another woman's drink and the second woman drinks it. People drink alcohol at a reception, and a woman appears drunk and slurs her speech. Two women smoke cigarettes, and a woman lights a cigarette.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Overprotective parenting, living vicariously through our children, perfectionism, love, spells, discipline, mental illness, competition, jealousy, self-destructive behavior, fear, weakness.
MESSAGE - Striving for perfection can cause overwhelming stress and lead to insanity.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
Heretic - 3.6.3
Conclave - 1.2.2
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Memoir of a Snail - 6.6.4
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