Two women, two stories, two different universes, but one same theme i.e. perfection that ultimately led to their own self-destruction.
Directed by Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan is a psychological thriller that hit the cinemas in 2010. Ever since I re-watched the movie, I couldn't help but think of the eerie similarities it had with Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue (1997). Now don't misconstrue my words, I definitely do not think it's a complete rip-off of Perfect Blue, but you can't ignore how similar Nina and Mima are. Not only their personalities are similar but both women are separated by just a letter, instead of the M's it's the N's.
Quick Synopsis: Black Swan follows the story of Nina Sayers, A prima ballerina who bags the lead role of her company's upcoming theatre performance of Swan Lake but her role is threatened when the Artistic Director, Thomas decides Lily would suit the role better. What ensues is her slow ascend to madness to be on top.
Now like many others, the first time I watched the movie I was completely in awe of how beautifully Aronofsky had depicted Nina's madness, the way he paid attention to the minuscule details throughout her metamorphosis.
Then we have Satoshi Kon's relevant to this day cult classic, Perfect Blue (1997). Now I can't begin to explain to you, how much I love this movie. Perfect Blue was my introduction to the world of anime, and I've never been able to look back ever since.
Quick Synopsis: Mima, a beautiful Japanese pop idol decided to leave her band CHAM! and decides to enter the world of acting with a sexually charged crime-thriller called "Double Bind". Everything turns into chaos when she has to strip down her image of the good girl in order to excel in the acting industry.
Perfect Blue is one of Kon's masterpieces that I feel hasn't been appreciated enough. Elaborating on what I mentioned before, it's relevant to this day cult classic. It's unfathomable to me, how Satoshi Kon was able to predict the age of stalking and impersonating another person on social media. How a celebrity gives into insanity cause of a mere stalker who pretends to be her and makes her question her own self.
Moving forward with the similarities, the plot might be completely different from one another but one thing you can't unsee is their want to be 'perfect'. One wants to be the Swan Queen while the other wants to be an actor and break out of her pop idol image. Both Nina and Mima are sensitive and timid, they immediately get affected by people's perceptions.
Mima seems to have an overprotective
figure in her life that is her assistant Rumi. she blindly trusts her, Rumi seems to be more affected by Mima's decision than Mima herself (to be a rape victim ). For Nina, her mother is that figure in her life, Nina is extremely dependent on her mother. Her mother seems to want the best for her daughter but again she also wishes for her daughter to stay with her forever. Both the mother-daughter seem to be co-dependent on each other. Mima in the movie starts facing difficulties while performing the shoot, she is going out of her comfort zone to be this completely different version of herself that she's never been. Furthermore, to add to her already deteriorating mental health, she finds out a website where someone is pretending to be her and making diary entries talking about their day in extreme detail, something that only she would know. This ultimately leads to her entering a stage where she doesn't know how to determine, that what is real and what is reel.
Similarly, Like our other fellow troubled lady (Mima), Nina also has to be on edge at all times as her role is threatened by Lily (Mila Kunis). Thomas's incessant remarks at Nina lead to her
obsessively working over her art, to be perfect and shine in Thomas's books. this, unfortunately, leads to Nina entering a stage of psychosis, where she doesn't know what is real around her, she starts to think of Lily as her arch-nemesis (someone who she remotely idolized).
Both of them have a male figure in their lives, For Mima, it is her agent, Tadokoro who constantly forces her to come out of her shell, that'll bring her more money, He primarily is the reason why she performs the rape scene, due to Tadokoro's plea, hence Mima becoming sexually liberated. In Nina's life, we have Thomas Leroy. Just like Tadokoro, Leroy forces Nina and pushes her boundaries, he also only thinks about the finances, he forces Beth (Winona Ryder) to retire as a ballerina so that Nina can be the Swan Queen, thus putting more burden on her shoulders. He even forces Nina to explore her sexuality. Both men have a seemingly significant impact on the leading ladies of the movie.
Both the girls lack social skills, Nina is hesitant and shy to talk to her fellow ballerinas while Mima seems to be someone who enjoys her own company. At a certain point, both the characters question themselves, whether they actually committed a murder, their delusions take the best of them. Nina questions whether she killed Lily or not (She dreamt of a scuffle with Lily where she ended up stabbing her), Mima questions her own intentions when suddenly people on her set begin dying one by one. While Mima is able to get her ending and live a rather positive life afterward and be herself, Nina gives her all in performing the perfect final piece (with a huge gash in her abdomen) and earning the long-awaited appreciation from Thomas.
The bottom line of this whole analysis-cum-review is to tell you, that Aronofsky definitely did not copy Kon's work, the movies in fact are unique in their own ways. It's a must-watch for people who enjoy a good psychological thriller. Both movies are fast-paced and will keep you glued to the screen throughout. Most of you would've watched Black Swan but I highly recommend you watch Perfect Blue, It's an apt representation of how malicious the virtual world can get, to a point where you lose your sense of being and instead get succumbed to this disastrous world that we call "The Internet".
I'll just leave you with one question, Is perfecting your art more important than the physical and emotional distress it's causing you?
Here's the trailer, if you're interested in watching the films I talked about!
Let me know your thoughts! Thank you so much for being here and sparing a few minutes into reading my reviews, you're really supporting a dream! You're appreciated and you got this! Have a great week ahead, Tomodachis!
Keep it up girlie. U r doing good. Although don’t follow much of these movies 🎥 and serials, but now thinking otherwise. Attagirl. 🌹👏🤗