10 Ways Darren Aronofsky Basically Remade The Wrestler In Black Swan

5. Fade To White Ending

Wait! Hold it! There are spoilers from now on... obviously. What is it with filmmakers and this ending? Did they not learn from the backlash The Sopranos got? Don't get me wrong, I welcome interpretation in a film. I loved the ending of Prisoners and at first, I loved the ending of The Wrestler. Actually, scratch that, I still love the ending of The Wrestler. When Randy walks out into the ring to the roar of the crowd, the advice to quit wrestling fresh in his ears and Cassidy watching helplessly from backstage, we know his venture to the top turn-buckle will result in one thing, and that is his death. As he gears up his signature move, the Ram Jam, he soars over our heads and the screen fades to white; the crowd going crazy for their idol. Aronofsky extends the ambiguity to Black Swan's finale, but this works to the film's detriment. While he sticks to his guns, he gives nothing away. Throughout, we question what is real and what is imaginary as the line between the two is blurred. Once it is revealed that Nina killing Lily did not take place, and it was in fact Nina stabbing herself in the stomach, she continues her performance. She falls from her podium atop the stage to rapturous applause. She lies on the mattress, tears in her eyes, as Thomas and others gather round and call for medical aid. Fade to white. Is she dead? Does she survive it? We just don't know. There is nothing to suggest either outcome and some viewers may thrive on such an ending. However, the only thing we have to go on is a retrospective look at The Wrestler and our assumption there. If you thought Randy died at the end of that film, you probably thought the same happened to Nina. While other points in this article may prove Aronofsky to be an auteur, this one point alone (even if it is just this one) betrays his filmmaking and suggests an almost identical repeated conclusion.