I'm a SAG Awards voter, and was sent a screening copy of this film, which I watched last night. The mother absolutely gave me the chills. It hit home in a major way, because my NM's biggest delusion of grandeur is that she was a prima ballerina. She has photos of herself all over the house from when she was young (high-school age) in her ballet costumes. She claims to have danced with the royal ballet in London, though no family member has ever corroborated her story. Even though the mother in Black Swan did push the daughter to excel, she was very bitter and jealous of the daughter because the daughter made lead dancer, where the M had never made it beyond a background dancer (which the daughter rubs in her face when she eventually gains a mind of her own). Another thing that really hit home was the mother blaming the daughter for damaging her career by being pregnant with her at 28 (which is near the end of a ballet dancer's career anyway). My mother told me the same things - like I jumped into her womb on purpose with the intent of ruining her life.
I'm sure that people who do not have Ns in their families will view this movie differently than those of us who are victims. There were some very subtle actions on the mother's part that jumped out at me, but might be lost on someone who had a normal childhood. Barbara Hershey did an amazing job with this role. It's a must-see film.
