Natalie Portman“I was always the little entertainer.” source: www.rottentomatoes.com |
Natalie Portman is maddening in that she can be so hot and cold in her performances, and I'm talking about movie to movie, not scene to scene. You'll be able to tell within the first 10 minutes of her screen-time if she cares about the role, or it's just a paycheck gig. Whereas other talented actors still bring a level of professionalism to mailing it in (Robert De Niro comes to mind), Portman sinks to "horror movie pretty face" levels of acting when she's uncommitted to a project.
Portman earned her bachelor's degree from Harvard while working on the billion dollar blockbuster Star Wars prequels, saying, "I don't care if it ruins my career. I'd rather be smart than a movie star.” Her obvious intelligence only exacerbates the issue of her project selection. She avoids the very upper echelon of actresses specifically because she doesn't bring her A-game to every role. She could actually learn a thing or two from a younger actress who's passed her on at least my personal rankings: Jennifer Lawrence. Where Portman has Jane Foster in the Thor movies, Lawrence has Mystique in X-Men. The difference being, I'd bet good money right now that when Days of Future Past is released, Lawrence gives it her all, even though she's clearly more interested in making movies like American Hustle and Silver Linings Playbook these days, rather than going through the elaborate, painstaking process to get her into Mystique's makeup (an excuse Portman doesn't have).
Portman has also failed to branch out and take advantage of the range she clearly has. Preferring to stick with fairly identifiable heroines, the closest she's come to playing a truly devious character was in The Other Boleyn Girl. She has the pull in Hollywood to land that sort of role if she wanted it, and taking a turn like Charlize Theron's in Monster could really help her stature. However, following the voluntary break she seems to have taken from 2011 on, appearing only in the second Thor due to contractual obligation, it looks like she might be doing just that. She is slated for 3 movies coming in 2014 and beyond, all vastly different. While still not taking a really despicable role (at least that we know of), she'll star in a Western (Jane Got a Gun), a Terrence Malick film (Knight of Cups) and is making her feature film directing debut with A Tale of Love and Darkness. Perhaps when all these projects are released, my criticism will seem misplaced. I certainly hope so, as if she took full advantage of her talent, the current slate of amazing "can't miss" young actresses would be stronger than it's been in quite some time.
Portman earned her bachelor's degree from Harvard while working on the billion dollar blockbuster Star Wars prequels, saying, "I don't care if it ruins my career. I'd rather be smart than a movie star.” Her obvious intelligence only exacerbates the issue of her project selection. She avoids the very upper echelon of actresses specifically because she doesn't bring her A-game to every role. She could actually learn a thing or two from a younger actress who's passed her on at least my personal rankings: Jennifer Lawrence. Where Portman has Jane Foster in the Thor movies, Lawrence has Mystique in X-Men. The difference being, I'd bet good money right now that when Days of Future Past is released, Lawrence gives it her all, even though she's clearly more interested in making movies like American Hustle and Silver Linings Playbook these days, rather than going through the elaborate, painstaking process to get her into Mystique's makeup (an excuse Portman doesn't have).
Portman has also failed to branch out and take advantage of the range she clearly has. Preferring to stick with fairly identifiable heroines, the closest she's come to playing a truly devious character was in The Other Boleyn Girl. She has the pull in Hollywood to land that sort of role if she wanted it, and taking a turn like Charlize Theron's in Monster could really help her stature. However, following the voluntary break she seems to have taken from 2011 on, appearing only in the second Thor due to contractual obligation, it looks like she might be doing just that. She is slated for 3 movies coming in 2014 and beyond, all vastly different. While still not taking a really despicable role (at least that we know of), she'll star in a Western (Jane Got a Gun), a Terrence Malick film (Knight of Cups) and is making her feature film directing debut with A Tale of Love and Darkness. Perhaps when all these projects are released, my criticism will seem misplaced. I certainly hope so, as if she took full advantage of her talent, the current slate of amazing "can't miss" young actresses would be stronger than it's been in quite some time.