‘Black Swan’ Soundtrack Review

A major challenge for the Black Swan soundtrack is to try to be more than just the soundtrack of Swan Lake, the ballet that Nina and the other dancers are performing. Clint Mansell does a fabulous job of making this music something unique but still distinguishable with the original music of the ballet. Mansell has experience working as a composer on dozens of films and has also teamed up with Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky several times on Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain and The Wrestler.

From the very first song, “Nina’s Dream,” there is something both beautiful and precise about the music. Each part of the track is carefully coordinated, just like a ballet has to be choreographed and practiced. The tracks are also injected with fear and paranoia that seems to come out in bursts. This promotes the quick changes that Nina feels when she can’t distinguish between reality and what she’s conjuring up in her mind.

The paranoia of the main character is a major factor in most of the music of this film. Many of the songs can start out as something planned and in line, but then, they will quickly be interrupted by chaos conveyed with loud, disruptive sounds.

By far, one of the best tracks on the entire soundtrack is “Perfection,” the second to last track on the album. It’s hard to explain how powerful this song really is, but the buildup in the music is just spectacular. Just by listening to the progression, you can tell that something incredibly important and game-changing is about to happen. As the song gets louder and louder, you can just feel the urgency of the dance. It’s clear that there are two things here in battle and one is going to win in the end. The end of the song once again becomes peaceful and dainty with the powerful instrumental ending the emotional roller coaster that listeners have just heard.

Even without seeing this film, you can deduce many of the feelings the music is supposed to convey, but after seeing the film, the music is even better. The album is really quite memorable because of the haunting feeling you get from listening to it — the music really sticks with you. Mansell manages to demonstrate a wide range of emotions including happiness, fear, sorrow and desperation while merging these feelings and the music used to create them with Tchaikovsky's original music.