Summary
The ballet The Red Shoes is an instant hit. Much like Lermontov's earlier work, it is celebrated by an adoring public, further boosting his ego and reinforcing his belief that he must have complete creative control. Nobody can stop talking about Vicky Page, and even those who initially lacked belief in her begin to fall for her talent and charms. Visitors stream into Lermontov's office to congratulate him, gushing over Vicky's performance. She continues to dance for the company, staring in their production of Coppelia.
Capitalizing on this fame, Lermontov promises Vicky that he can make her a prima ballerina, offering her fame and fortune. However, the deal has a caveat: Lermontov makes it explicit to Vicky that, in exchange for celebrity status, she must yield control of every aspect of her life to him. Unwilling to lose another prima ballerina like he did Irina, Lermontov wants to ensure his control over Vicky's pursuits outside of dance, including her romantic endeavors.
Lermontov's escalating need for control over Vicky becomes an issue as she falls in love with Julian. The two go for a romantic carriage ride along the beach, expressing the depth of their love for one another—an intensity of love that rivals their passions for their respective artistic pursuits. Julian tells Vicky that he will remember the night in the carriage as the happiest moment of his life. Of course, a romance between Vicky and Julian is not within the purview of Lermontov's plan, but it's too late: he brought them together while The Red Shoes was still in rehearsals, and the bond that he enabled between them has evolved into true love.
Vicky continues to dance impressively, and is shown rehearsing for the Ballet Lermontov's production of Swan Lake. Julian gazes at her longingly from the orchestra pit, and Lermontov watches her with an increasingly exacting eye. His physical presence telegraphs a growing sense of jealousy, and his harsh criticisms towards Vicky aren't shared by the rest of the company. At one point, he catches Vicky smiling at Julian from the stage while she performs, and he becomes furious.
One night, at a birthday dinner for the choreographer, Grischa Lubov, Lermontov notices that Vicky and Julian are conspicuously absent. Lermontov demands to know their whereabouts, and learns something that, apparently, was already obvious to the rest of his company: Vicky and Julian are in love.
Lermontov is incensed when he learns of Vicky and Julian's relationship. He calls Julian into his office, asking him outright about what is going on. He claims that Vicky's performance has declined as she was "dreaming" while she danced, announcing that "dreaming is something he has never permitted in his company." He complains that Vicky has not yet reached her full potential, and that she never will if she continues to be "sidetracked" by her crush on Julian. Julian is dejected to hear this, and tells Lermontov that they are in love.
An angry Lermontov derides Julian's new compositions, expressing dissatisfaction with his latest score and insisting that it be scrapped. Feeling that this newfound aggression is arbitrary, Julian resigns angrily, further stoking Lermontov's outrage. Grischa Ljubov chastises Lermontov for this decision, complaining that Julian was one of the best composers the company has seen, and that the new ballet was set to be one of their best yet. He calls Lermontov a lunatic, citing the impossible demands he places on those around him as evidence of his unnecessarily controlling personality. Ljubov then dramatically resigns.
Vicky and Julian attempt to enjoy a warm night on the boardwalk, but neither is in a good mood. They are joined at dinner by Grischa Ljubov, whose resignation Lermontov has rejected. However, Lermontov stands by his decision to dismiss Julian. They learn that Lermontov is leaving for Paris the next morning, and Vicky meets him at the train station. She demands to know why he quarrels with Julian, and he tells Vicky that Julian has "interfered with certain plans" that he had for Vicky's career. She threatens to leave the company and dance somewhere else if Julian is not rehired. He demands that Vicky either leave Julian or leave the company, insisting, as with Irina's earlier dismissal, that she must choose between her love of dance and her love of Julian. In response to Lermontov's ultimatum, Vicky leaves the company and marries Julian. However, Lermontov never gives up his conviction that Vicky will one day return and dance for him once more.
Analysis
In this part of the film, Lermontov's obsessive need for control rears its head at precisely the moment when the stakes are highest for Vicky. After the premiere of the ballet, Vicky is experiencing success in both her career and her personal life—but in Lermontov's view, the two kinds of success are incompatible, and Vicky is asked to abandon one in favor of the other. The tension of this choice will be the eventual cause of Vicky's undoing, as she repeatedly vacillates between the two, loving both so much that she is unable to chose one over the other.
Lermontov's need for creative control is suggested, in this part of the film, to be a direct result of his incapacity for love; this fact may make us more sympathetic towards an otherwise tyrannical character. It is repeatedly suggested that his inability to understand how Vicky might both love Julian and continue to dedicate herself to dance stems from his own previous romantic blights. Perhaps he has given up on love for himself and wishes to deny it to others, instead enlisting them in the pursuit of public approval that underlies his work as a ballet impresario. If Lermontov can't have love, neither can any of his dancers—they can only share in the experience of the one type of love he himself has experienced, the status of being beloved by an audience.
The escalating tension at this point in the film could also be read as a corrupting effect of fame. With her increasingly respected name, Vicky grows more self-assured, no longer relying on Lermontov's unequivocal support, as she did before the opening performance of The Red Shoes. No longer the nervous rookie ballerina, she begins to realize that she can demand more out of life, attempting to discover new joys in life and romance in addition to continuing her career in ballet. This new sense of confidence is at odds with Lermontov's growing ego, so he responds by becoming overbearing and demanding. Although their success has entitled them to a luxurious stay in Monte Carlo, it has also heightened the stakes of each of their careers, and fuels the tension between them, which flares up most prominently when Lermontov becomes jealous of Vicky's dedication to Julian.
The adverse effects of Lermontov's tyranny starts to come into sharp focus at this point in the film. While his previous need for control could be understood as a necessary quirk of his successful artistic method, it has now escalated out of control. Even though it's obvious to the rest of the company (and to the viewer) that Vicky, Julian, and Ljubov are all at the tops of their careers, Lermontov fires or threatens to fire all three, demonstrating that he is blinded by jealousy, acting irrationally at the expense of his final artistic output. As he begins to damage the future potential of his ballet company, Lermontov's intensity can no longer be chalked up to his status as a crazy creative genius—instead, he must be viewed as an oversensitive and insecure man who, despite fortune and celebrity, cannot help but take his frustration out on others.
The tonal shift that occurs during this section is bolstered by a souring of several motifs and details of the setting. The summer heat, which once seemed to make Monte Carlo an appealing destination, becomes oppressive as Vicky and Julian sit on the boardwalk in a saddened stupor. The luxury and glamour of their surroundings begin to mock them, representing the once-gleaming future that will be jeopardized if they pursue their love for one another. Lermontov's dark suits, which once contributed to his aura of artistic mystery, now make him appear sinister. Overall, the tone that was once light and celebratory has become stifling and ominous.
