8. Black Swan
It's completely obvious that not every single sequence in Black Swan actually happens in the film's reality, but what if much less than we think takes place outside of Portman's damaged mind? It seems clear that the late-in-the-game murder and transformations are safely a part of the disintegrating ballet dancer's delusion, but further still, it's unlikely that Winona Ryder's disfiguring moment in the hospital or the lesbian tryst with Mila Kunis actually occur in the film's real-world context (sorry, guys). Both instances help foster a world view that feeds Nina's obsession and neither sequence is really acknowledged by the other characters. Nina has set about the metamorphosis already, and as her mind spins towards the Black Swan, so does the reality surrounding her. If, however, she's crazy from day one, this might serve to cast Barbara Hershey's demanding, over-bearing mother in a different light. There's a point, when we observe the collection of paintings that suggests Nina's might be a family illness. What if, though, Nina is only seeing what she wants to? Hershey may be doing the best she can to hide Nina's madness from her, while trying to steer her away from that which threatens to break her. It makes us question more deeply her constant questioning of her daughter; what seems like sadistic baiting and unreasonable standards might be the true worry of a concerned parent who doesn't know what to say or what curtains to pull back in the face of her daughter's downward spiral.