Girls' Night Out: Lily, Nina, and Molly

 There’s an extreme juxtaposition of two very different worlds clashing when Nina and Lily go on their wild night out. Aronofsky clashes the beautiful and graceful world of ballet, with the harsh party world of the EDM scene. In fact, this whole movie is filled with juxtapositions and opposites: perfection vs. passion, and old vs. new. Yet there was something particularly enticing about this scene. It seems to be Nina’s turning point.

"You've never rolled before?" 

Molly… Ecstasy… MDMA… whatever you choose to call it, it sets Nina free, and it seems to also set the viewer free. From the very beginning of the movie it seems like you’re right there with Nina. You’re stressed out hoping that everything goes right for her. Hopefully her moves are perfect, it pains you to see Thomas constantly yell at her, sexually harass her, and work her to the point of insanity. In a sense you’re just as innocent as she is, until Lily comes to take her out. And all of a sudden, that innocence is destroyed by alcohol, ecstasy, and sex. Again the juxtaposition: vices and virtues.

The drug is the catalyst; it set the transformation in motion. Nina loses control for a “couple hours tops”. And in reality, although the drug itself wore off Nina was too far away from her old self to return to that state of innocence. And so is the viewer. Everything becomes a little bit darker, there is a lot more screaming, and the creepiness factor increases (when Beth starts stabbing herself in the face… SCARY). Nina keeps losing control, moving farther and farther into the world of vice, and into the world of insanity until we see the greatest juxtaposition in the movie: the white swan and the black swan.

-Ameet Eini