‘A rare indulgence’: why Black Swan is my feelgood movie

The latest in our series of writers explaining their go-to comfort films is a tribute to Darren Aronofsky’s dark and unusually satisfying ballet nightmare In early 2011, sometime after the film was released on home video, I sat down with mum to watch what she had heard was a “new ballet movie” by Darren Aronofsky. Having served plenty of time in the company’s corps de ballet, Nina’s dedication has gone mostly unnoticed – as her mother reminds her each night, brushing her hair and tucking her into bed (Nina’s infantine bedroom is perhaps the scariest part of Black Swan).