LT Features

The Many Mixed Messages of Natalie Portman This past weekend I saw Black Swan (a little behind on the times, I know) and I was blown away.  It’s an incredible film and all that, but the dedication of both Natalie Portman as an actress and that of the character she played, Nina, was unbelievable.  Natalie in real life had to transform her body into that of a professional dancer’s (and she did such an incredible job that I never thought she looked out of place amongst the other ballerinas), and Nina was so dedicated to her craft and she drove herself bonkers striving for perfection.  Straight-up-bat-shit-crazy.  Or should I say bird-shit-crazy?  Har, har, har. But one of the most amazing parts of the film happened before the movie even began – Natalie Portman was in three of the five trailers that screened before Black Swan.  She kept popping up, trailer after trailer, that when I saw her in the third I laughed out loud.  How it is even humanly possible to be in four films within 365 days is beyond me – I can barely handle a yearly teeth cleaning.  Natalie, unlike many actresses who are typecast over and over in the same roles (I’m talking to you, Jennifer Aniston), plays a distinctly different character in each of these four films.  She’s a fragile yet determined ballerina in Black Swan, a crossbow-yielding and ass-kicking medieval chic in the comedy Your Highness, a human who befriends Thor in his namesake film, and a girl who is just looking to get her kicks in No Strings Attached.  So which is it, Natalie?  Are you a Boleyn sister, Queen Amidala, a depressed widow – you can’t have it all!  With so many struggling actresses out there, it seems only fair that you save some roles for the rest of them. I would argue that Natalie is the most versatile actress of her generation.  Who else has surprised you with their ability to perfect a bevy of different characters?  And don’t you dare say Jim Carrey – adult Attention Deafest Disorder does not count as dramatic range.  Leave a comment below and let me know! L.T.

The Many Mixed Messages of Natalie Portman

This past weekend I saw Black Swan (a little behind on the times, I know) and I was blown away.  It’s an incredible film and all that, but the dedication of both Natalie Portman as an actress and that of the character she played, Nina, was unbelievable.  Natalie in real life had to transform her body into that of a professional dancer’s (and she did such an incredible job that I never thought she looked out of place amongst the other ballerinas), and Nina was so dedicated to her craft and she drove herself bonkers striving for perfection.  Straight-up-bat-shit-crazy.  Or should I say bird-shit-crazy?  Har, har, har.

But one of the most amazing parts of the film happened before the movie even began – Natalie Portman was in three of the five trailers that screened before Black Swan.  She kept popping up, trailer after trailer, that when I saw her in the third I laughed out loud.  How it is even humanly possible to be in four films within 365 days is beyond me – I can barely handle a yearly teeth cleaning. 

Natalie, unlike many actresses who are typecast over and over in the same roles (I’m talking to you, Jennifer Aniston), plays a distinctly different character in each of these four films.  She’s a fragile yet determined ballerina in Black Swan, a crossbow-yielding and ass-kicking medieval chic in the comedy Your Highness, a human who befriends Thor in his namesake film, and a girl who is just looking to get her kicks in No Strings Attached.  So which is it, Natalie?  Are you a Boleyn sister, Queen Amidala, a depressed widow – you can’t have it all!  With so many struggling actresses out there, it seems only fair that you save some roles for the rest of them.

I would argue that Natalie is the most versatile actress of her generation.  Who else has surprised you with their ability to perfect a bevy of different characters?  And don’t you dare say Jim Carrey – adult Attention Deafest Disorder does not count as dramatic range.  Leave a comment below and let me know!

L.T.

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