Natalie Portman: Five Films for Newcomers
It’s hard to disassociate a star like Natalie Portman with pop culture, particularly because of her eclectic resume. Starting as a child actress and progressing towards some of the biggest franchises (including Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequels, and Jane Foster in the Marvel universe), she has starred in many types of films even in between these mega titles. I love going to the Toronto International Film Festival every year, and there are a few filmmakers or performers whose new films I try to see whenever they are there. Natalie Portman is one of those people, because she can star in an Awards season hit, an indie gem, or a borderline arthouse experiment at any given time. You never know what you’re going to get this way. So, sure, maybe the entire world knows about Natalie Portman already, but how well do you know her best work? Here are five films for newcomers to the films of Natalie Portman on her thirty ninth birthday.
5. A Tale of Love and Darkness
Although an uncommon choice, A Tale of Love and Darkness is where you can see what cinema means to Natalie Portman as a whole. Her first feature film as a director, Portman adapted Amos Oz’s novel into a personal piece on a son’s connection with his mother in ‘40s Jerusalem. Featuring a completely missed stellar performance by Portman (and some interesting direction to boot), this is a side of hers you may want to check out.
4. Annihilation
So Natalie Portman takes part in the occasional off-kilter film (I’m thinking Planetarium, Lucy in the Sky, Vox Lux, amongst others), but the best of these is Annihilation. In this science fiction horror, Portman plays the survivor of a suicide mission into the unknown. Much more reserved than her roles usually are, this work is worth the watch alone. As a figurehead of a side of Portman’s career, Annihilation couldn’t be a more appropriate choice.
3. Léon: The Professional
Of course, we must visit Portman’s younger roles, and the only place to begin is with Léon: The Professional: her debut film, and the breakthrough of a child star. Although the film itself is only so good, Portman is excellent beyond her years in this incredibly mature performance in such a twisted narrative. Both Portman’s capabilities and her career were impossible to doubt even from the very start.
2. Jackie
Then there’s the strong side of Portman’s performances (Closer, The Other Boleyn Girl, Goya’s Ghosts, amongst others), and I must go with the fantastic take on Jackie O. in Jackie. Facilitating Pablo Larrain’s more intense approach to the biopic, Portman uses the late first lady’s charm to anchor the film, and her acting strengths to elevate the melodrama to soaring heights. As a project and a performance, Jackie is an astonishing feat.
1. Black Swan
Of course. What other film would be here? Black Swan contains Natalie Portman’s best performance (which garnered her a Best Actress Oscar), and simply is the best film she’s ever taken part in. Shallow in symbolism yet canyon-deep in parallels, Black Swan is a deceptive melodrama thriller that boasts as many theatrics as smarts. Portman’s at the centre of it all, by providing the emotional core that all of the hysteria orbits around. Putting on many different faces — even within a single shot — is what Portman does best in this modern psychological horror, and that’s why it’s a no brainer for where one should start when it comes to Natalie Portman’s career.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.