Black Swan
Starting off at the age of 12 with an unforgettable carrying out inLéon : The Professionaland cull up a in demand Harvard teaching and a unrelenting barrage ofStar Warsprequel backlash along the elbow room , Natalie Portman has emerged as one of the fine doer in movie history .
Unfortunately , she ’s not always commit characters and stories that are suitable of her transcendent talents . For every outstanding flick she ’s starred in , there are a handful of mediocre duds and even a couple of trumpery - bus . So , here are Natalie Portman ’s five most iconic roles , as well as five movies that squander her endowment .
update on July 14th , 2022 by Colin McCormick : Natalie Portman ’s payoff to the MCU inThor : Love and Thunderhelps to ransom the character of Jane Foster and add being a superhero to her long inclination of calling accomplishments . But while Portman has given fan many iconic roles , she has also appear in movies that have wasted her considerable talents with bland stories or uninteresting roles . As fans learn out her turn as the Mighty Thor , they can also look back on her most memorable lineament as well as the ones lover in all probability wo n’t remember at all .
The Most Iconic Natalie Portman Roles
Garden State (2004)
• usable to lease or purchase on Amazon Prime Video
The indie comedyGarden Statestars Zach Braff as Andrew , a depressed young man who returns to his hometown for his mother ’s funeral . While there , he meets an optimistic unseasoned troubled young womanhood name Sam who serve him discover happiness and face his past .
The movie is satisfy with quirky humour and Sam is responsible for so much of it . She is a sweet and charming character who audiences fall for immediately , yet Portman never lose grasp of the character as a human being dealing with her own struggles .
Closer (2004)
Portman joined the telling cast of characters ofCloserwhich also star Julia Roberts , Clive Owen , and Jude Law . The movie is a story of four people , their romantic relationships , and the infidelity that tears them aside . Portman plays Alice , a untested woman who deal with the pain of her own kinship shine aside .
Out of the star - studded cast , Portman steals the show as the story ’s most sympathetic character . She is heartbreaking and alluring , becoming the heart of the story in many ways .
Léon: The Professional (1994)
• useable on Netflix and Hulu
Natalie Portman ’s first - ever motion picture role still stands as one of her best and most memorable . Portman starred as a young girl whose family is killed by a corrupt police policeman ( Gary Oldman ) . She is taken in bya baneful yet sympathetic hitmanwho teach her his deal .
Portman immediately established herself as a huge acting gift with her carrying into action as the young Matilda . She is innocent and grievous , but also dark and badass . Despite being a tyke , she walks away with the entire pic .
Annihilation (2018)
• Available on Paramount+
Alex Garland’sAnnihilationtook a unique approach to portray alien life on the screen . Instead of fiddling unripened men who desire to take over the world , Garland depicted extraterrestrial being who have no logical system or reason and ca n’t even really be comprehended by the human mind .
Natalie Portman stars as Lena , whose hubby was stamp out by the aliens . She heads into “ the Shimmer ” and find some truly haunting things . Portman ’s committed carrying into action takes spectator on the terrifying journey with her .
V For Vendetta (2005)
• Available on HBO Max
Based on the acclaimedgraphic novel by Alan Moore , James McTeigue ’s dystopian thrillerV for Vendettadelivered a thrilling and thought - provoke adventure . Portman plays a untried woman named Evie who is pull into an elaborate revenge charge of a masked vigilance man .
While it is V who popularized the Guy Fawkes masks in the moving picture , Portman is the audience surrogate as she is introduced to a globe of corruption and dark secrets while follow V. She commit an riveting performance , include her unforgettable foreland - shaving scene .
Jackie (2016)
In the underrated , poignant , masterfully craftedJackie , Natalie Portman meet former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy at possibly the most hard time in her biography : the days direct follow the character assassination of her husband . narration about the Kennedy assassination are often told from the perspective of Secret Service agents face for the perpetrator , or confederacy theoriser trying to visualise out whoreallydid it .
But the First Lady ’s perspective is the most emotionally devastating — being ripe at JFK ’s side when it happened , keeping a brave look in front of her kids , being in the public eye , etc . — and Portman plays her spectacularly .
Black Swan (2010)
• Available on Hulu and Amazon Prime Video
Thecrown jewel in Natalie Portman ’s filmography , Black Swanmight incessantly persist the role player ’s finest film . revolutionise byThe Red Shoesand Dostoyevsky’sThe Double , Darren Aronofsky require a seriously dedicated , talented performer to bring Nina Sayers ( and her doppelganger ) to living on the large screen .
Portman was the idealistic choice , subtly portray both the tortured person of an obsessive creative person and the frazzled genial province of a adult female with undiagnosed psychological consequence . It is a haunting and catch performance that earned Portman her first Oscar .
Roles That Wasted Natalie Portman’s Talent
Mars Attacks! (1996)
The sci - fi comedyMars Attacks!features a ridiculous takeon the foreign invasion moviewith an all - star cast . Portman plays the girl of the President of the United States ( Jack Nicholson ) as the world contends with an attack from hideous Martians who seem to want nothing more than to destroy the world .
The motion picture is a kinky bit of playfulness from Tim Burton , but Portman does n’t get much to do in the flick . Perhaps it ’s not surprising give the massive ensemble that also admit Pierce Brosnan , Sarah Jessica Parker , and Danny DeVito .
The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
• Available on Starz
Wes Anderson is a film producer fuck for assembling immense and gifted casts for his movies . The Darjeeling Limitedfeatures Adrien Brody , Jason Schwartzman , and Owen Wilson as brother venture on a gearing stumble in India .
Fans likely would expect Portman to have a self-coloured role alongside the respite of the mould . Instead , she appears for a twosome of seconds without any lines as Schwartzman ’s ex - girl . Though the movie itself is still good , it seems like a miss chance .
No Strings Attached (2011)
No Strings Attachedwas released in 2011 , the same class asFriends with Benefits , a pic with an almost identical assumption , and they ’re both so painfully formulaic that anyone who saw both of them could be forgiven for not being able to discover one from the other .
What ’s even more dreadful is that this travesty hit theatre of operations the same year that Natalie Portman won an Oscar for her breathless carrying out in Darren Aronofsky ’s psychological thrillerBlack Swan .
Your Highness (2011)
• Available on Hulu
On report , a stoner comedy prepare in a Middle - earth - esque phantasy kingdom from the team behindPineapple Expressstarring Natalie Portman sounds fantastic . unluckily , in execution , Your Highnessis pretty awful .
The joke are push and puerile and every scene is dragged out until it ’s been stretch out razor - thin . Portman’sSNLappearances have proven she ’s got comedic chop ; if she ’s going to be utilized in a drollery , it should be a lot smarter than this .
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
• Available on Showtime
Portman stepped into the world of dress up flow drama withThe Other Boleyn Girl . A fictionalized version of Mary Boleyn ’s affair with her babe ’s husband Henry VIII and the baneful side effect of this machination .
Despite some interesting material infuse in historical event as well as a cast including Scarlett Johansson and Eric Bana , the movie was a dashing hopes . The voltage of the story is emaciate on a horny melodrama that feel more at home as a boob tube movie without the talent of these fine actors .
Lucy In The Sky (2019)
• useable on fuboTV
Given the functioning Portman delivered as a disruptive young adult female with huge ambition , Lucy in the Skyfelt like it was poised to be a perfect vehicle for her . Loosely establish on a lawful story , the flick star Portmanas an astronaut who returns to Earthand struggles with her seemingly everyday life .
Sadly , the movie waste an interesting story to go through the motion of a dull and predictable dramatic event . The movie also push aside some of the more gonzo prospect of the dependable story that could have helped turn it into a more off - kelter tale that would have been more compelling .
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
• usable on Starz and Disney+
Portman ’s surprisal return to the MCU inThor : Love and Thunderhas been met with a lot of acclaim , with many calling it the just facet of the movie . However , the character has n’t always gotten her due in the MCU .
After being sidelined as generic love interest Jane Foster in 2011’sThor , Natalie Portman got sidelined even more in 2013’sThor : The Dark World . When Loki became a rooter preferent afterThe Avengers , Portman ’s function inThe Dark Worldwas reduce so much that she was little more than a benign presence in most of her panorama , leading Portman to quit the Marvel rat race .
NEXT:7 Movies Or idiot box prove Jane Foster ’s Mighty Thor Could Show Up In Next