HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATALIE PORTMAN: Natalie Portman has emerged to be among her generation’s most talented and well-respected actors. Portman began her career as a young actress in the great Leon: The Professional, and she went on to win an Oscar, two Golden Globes, and a British Academy Film Award. Most actors stay in the same genre of the movie biz, but Portman has shown us in her years of work that she can do it all.
- Black Swan (2011)Portman masterfully displayed what a wounded artist would undergo to achieve near flawlessness, in a manically obsessive, tour-de-force performance as Nina Sayers. Nina is a very anxious and self-conscious ballet dancer who has been cast as the Swan Queen in her theatre’s staging of Black Swan.
Wracked by strain and worry, Nina gradually transforms into the black swan herself in what becomes a massive acrobatic meta-remake of the title ballet. Portman deservedly won her first Oscar for her role in this movie. - Jackie (2016)Portman has rarely provided a stronger portrayal in any movie as she has as the mourning first lady than in Jackie, in a remote, goofy, and overwrought act. It is no surprise that she received her third Academy Award nomination for her role in the picture.
The movie by Pablo Larrain focuses on Jackie Kennedy’s deteriorating psychological condition in the aftermath of her spouse and the leader of the free world, President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. The film brilliantly exposes Jackie’s turbulent mind and a flurry of conflicting emotions at a period of unimaginable loss and suffering. - V for Vendetta (2005)As Evey in the Wachowski-written sci-fi action film V for Vendetta, Portman provides one of her most formidable and physically demanding performances. The movie, directed by James Teague, envisions a dystopian future in which Britain has degraded into a totalitarian monarchy.
A crafty resistance warrior named V (Hugo Weaving) launches a conspiracy to destroy the government and reinstate social freedom with the assistance of Evey. Portman is gentle and sensitive, when necessary, yet robust and impenetrable when the stakes are raised. Her role in the movie is part of what makes this movie a must-watch for everyone. - Leon (1994)It is difficult to imagine Portman’s first film role was in Luc Besson’s classic tale of unrequited love. Leon (Jean Reno), a juvenile hitman with his peculiarities and blunders, is referred to in the title. When Mathilda, 12, witnesses her family being massacred by a drug dealer, she finds refuge in Leon’s apartment complex.
Leon gradually begins to care for Mathilda, teaching her the realities of society and the techniques of his profession as he falls in love with her. As her first piece of work, it is a must-watch for any Portman fan. - Closer (2004)Portman received her first Academy Award nomination for her role as the brilliant Alice in Mike Nichols’ Closer. The drama of torrid adultery between two gorgeous couples allowed Portman to show off her seductive side as Alice, a waitress turned stripper. The film, inspired by the Patrick Marber play, also stars Jude Law, Julia Roberts, and Clive Owen.
