27 Natalie Portman Movies That Show Complex Film Genres
Maturity grows with experiences, but this actress has shown distinction in her career being an early precocious. Natalie Portman is an Israeli-American actress who made her acting debut at the early age of twelve. Along with her acting career, she has done quality education and has established herself as a director and producer too.
Portman's exponential self-built potential landed her in immense dark humor, thriller, mystery, psychological, and drama roles. In addition, she has also starred in many rom-com and sci-fi movies. Her movie roles have made her recipient of many significant awards like The Oscars Award, Academy Award for best actress, BAFTA Award for best actress in a leading role, and so on.
Here is the list of prime Natalie Portman movies that are must-watch.
1. Black Swan (2010)
Directed by Darren Aronofsky, a psychological horror base revolves around Nina Sayers(Natalie Portman) an aspirant ballerina aiming for perfection to show she is capable of becoming the protagonist of the Swan Lake ballet play.
Thomas Leroy(Vincent Cassel), the artistic director, inspects to find the new ballerina to fit the role of the White Swan who has elegant, fragile, and innocent charms as well as the Black Swan who shows a darkly sensual, and seductive charm.
Nina has all the characteristics of a white swan but fails to show the Black swan side. Here is when Lily(Mila Kunis), a carefree ballerina, that fits the charms of Black Swan, pressured by an inferiority complex, Nina sacrifices her sanity by experiencing psychosis. Delusions keep disrupting, which in the end takes her life on her dream stage.
2. V For Vendetta (2006)
An action, thriller, and mystery-packed plot based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore. Set in the year 2020, where a fascist authoritarian government has made Britain into a gothic state, hauling citizens who go against any of their conservative rules. Directed by James MctTigue, the movie shows a thought-provoking political scenario.
V (Hugo Weaving) a termed terrorist with a "Guy Fawkes" mask has plans to destroy the parliament and assassinate those who wronged him. That's when he meets Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman), a television network government employee who is rescued by V from the sexual assault of police officers.
V has kept Evey underground even though she was reluctant to cooperate with a wraith-like criminal, an unlikely bond forms between them as Evey comes to know V's past, and they become allies to fight against the oppressors. A part of the movie shows Portman's head being shaved as actual hair of hers that had to be filmed in one take.
3. Jackie (2016)
Gives a biographical aspect after President John F. Kennedy's assassination when her wife; Jacqueline Kennedy (Natalie Portman)has to take charge of their family history and resolve the aftermath of her husband's death.
This Natalie Portman movie shows two parts of movies before and after the assassination. She then comes as a public speaker to answer the reporters and the world about the legacy of the late president. Many times in a room filled with men trying to overtake her opinions and giving her reality checks. Even so, she copes with her grief and consoles her two young children.
4. Léon: The Professional (1994)
The story of a 12-year-old Mathilda's (Natalie Portman) life turns tragic because of her malfunctioning family massacre by a crooked DEA officer because of a petty drug dealing case.
Her neighbor, Léon, a hitman by profession with a soft spot for her small plant makes Mathilda his protégée, teaches her past of his profession to take her revenge on the killers.
This Natalie Portman movie, directed by Luc Besson, shows an unusual apprentice between the two after something tragic happened in both of their lives.
5. Annihilation (2018)
A psychological, sci-fi mystery when a biologist soldier's(Portman) husband hasn't returned from his mission suddenly, reappears after a year later suffering from a mysterious illness. He remembers nothing from his mission, meanwhile, the discovery of a psychedelic fluorescent forest spreading.
To find the origins of this "Area X", Lena leads an expedition along with a biologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist, a surveyor, and a linguist and enter the "shimmer" and find mutated hybrid species in a quarantine zone.
6. Closer (2004)
A waitress and stripper(Natalie), a struggling writer, a lusty dermatologist, and a photographer discover each other in a series of events that attracts them toward each other until these two couples start losing their infatuation for each other and fall into an affair with the other woman from other relationship eventually both relationships collapse. They realize there was never a feeling of "love" in between.
7. Star Wars (1999-2005)
Portman starred as one of the primary characters in this trilogy franchise as Padmé Amidala, the young queen of Naboo, later a senator. While being involved in judicial works, she fell in love with Anakin Skywalker, who has the potential of becoming the biggest Jedi.
All the parts of the prequel trilogy; The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith, made it to top-grossing movies of the release years which gave her international recognition. These prequel trilogies were filmed during her summer break, earning a bachelor's degree in psychology, as well as being a pivotal part of a successful fiction work of director George Lucas.
8. Thor (2011-2022)
Signing in with Marvel Cinematic Universe, she played the character of a scientist and love interest of the infamous god of thunder; Thor, played by Chris Hemsworth. An unreleased clip of her scene from one of the Thor movies made her featured in Avengers Endgame.
She is set to return to Thor: Love and Thunder in 2022, diagnosed with cancer as well as a superhero. An unreleased clip of her scene from one of the Thor movies made her featured in Avengers Endgame.
Marvel has been a big name in terms of fame in the treasure of Natalie Portman movies.
9. A Tale Of Love And Darkness (2015)
Adapted from the autobiographical novel by Amos Oz, Natalie Portman made her directorial debut and also worked as a writer for the film, featuring her in the role of the author's mother, Fania.
The essence of the movie highlights childhood, family, love for his mother that he wrote as a memoir inspired by her mother's love for poems and stories. The traumatic aspect of this Natalie Portman movie shows the dissolution of the British Mandate for Palestine, the displacement of surviving Jews, after-effects of World War II which leads Fania to experience depression feeling like a suffocation, she commits suicide over sleeping pills.
10. Vox Lux (2018)
Showcased at the 75th Venice Film Festival, a fictional melodrama pact story depicts Celeste, a teenager's tragic encounter in a school shooting in 1999 which will change her fate forever. Along with her songwriter sister, her voice soothes the hearts of mourners in the memorial service. Discovered by a talent manager, young Celeste rises to fame as a phenomenal singer.
Her career starts to deteriorate, seventeen years later after overcoming scandals and struggling with drawbacks of stardom physically and mentally, she announces a homecoming concert which she performs under facades of emotional flashbacks. She explains her career as "a deal with the devil".
11. Planetarium (2016)
A historical fantasy thriller set in the ninety-thirties in Paris, Laura Barlow(Natalie Portman) and her sister(Lily-Rose Depp) possess supernatural abilities to communicate with paranormal nuances. They tour around to show them in their psychic performance, where they come across Korben, a French visual producer who has a history attached to his Romanian past in a similar case of paranormal ghosts of his own.
The producer gets in touch with the sisters and makes Laura cast in movies, but also to use them for his own benefit to actually capture their communication with ghosts and supernatural forces in his movies. The movie is loosely based on a true story of a holocaust victim.
12. No Strings Attached (2011)
Fifteen years later after a camp, two friends Adam(Ashton Kutcher) and Emma(Natalie Portman) cross paths again, but they take their friendship to another level. They pledge to have only a physical relationship because they are afraid to ruin their relationship backed by calling themselves non-couple personalities.
Sooner, they both start breaking their set boundaries of feeling emotional attachment, and they fall for each other after pushing each other away. Unlike her other movies, this features her in a very light comedy role in a romantic genre.
13. Anywhere But Here (1999)
Adele(Sarandon) is an impulsive, naive-confident single mom who feels suffocated with her living perks and lack of opportunities. Her daughter, totally opposite of her behavior, she has excelled as a student and from a practical perspective.
She is sick of her mother's indecisiveness and rebels on her decision to move to Beverly Hills to make Ann(Portman) a film actress. But she confronts her mother to stop forcing her ideal living and opportunities on her. Unable to make a living and fulfill both of their dreams, Adele realizes Ann's will and helps her do what she wants with her life.
14. Your Highness (2011)
A stoner comedy-adventure plot about an abducted bride-to-be of the heir prince by a wizard, which leads the two princes to save the damsel as well as their kingdom. In their conquest, they meet an elusive warrior(Portman) with killing arrow slingshots, besides, she has a dangerous agenda of her own.
She accompanies the princes in their mission. Portman, unlike her previous roles, opted for this character play as to how the director, David Gordon Green, described it as "The girl’s going to be funny here".
15. Garden State (2004)
An indie romantic-comedy movie with some psychological aspects. Starring Zach Braff, who also directed the movie, in the role of Andrew who returns home after maintaining hostility with his family to attend his mother's funeral.
He is surrounded by familiar faces who are his childhood friends as they are grave-diggers. Later his father gets him an appointment due to frequent headaches he experiences just find out that he has been put on some medications and mood stabilizers since he was 10 by his father.
While in the clinic he meets Sam(Natalie), a manic pixie dream-girl suffering from epilepsy and is a pathological liar. He feels an immediate connection with her. He spends some time with Sam to in fact realize the fact that she influenced his life with her bright character.
Zach Braff himself revealed that the movie accounts for at least seventy-five percent of it is true. The soundtracks of this Natalie Portman movie won Grammy Awards for their phenomenal arrangement.
16. Brothers (2009)
The remake of a Danish drama that casts light on war, after-war effects, family aspects of emotional and psychological causes.
The news comes that Sam Cahill, a well-dignified mariner has died on his Afghanistan mission, Tommy, his brother, who on the same day got released from prison assumes a responsibility for family and Sam's wife and two daughters. Grace(Portman) handles the news maturely, but as time passes, Tommy and Grace grow closer and the daughters see a flash of a father in Tommy.
Later enough, Sam returns home after surviving as a prisoner but after-war effects disturb the well-being that also makes him suspect the relationship between his brother and his wife.
17. Song To Song (2017)
A Terrence Mallick direction reveals an entangled love triangle associated with materialistic motives. Faye is already in a relationship with a producer, Cook but hiding this she ropes in the character of Ryan Gosling, a struggling singer-songwriter if he could make her launch her non-existing music career.
Natalie's character appears as a waitress who falls into a relationship with Cook who soon marries her, but it was never a loving relationship. The plot then revolves around betrayal, seduction, and break-offs. Faye's voice-over- "We thought we could just roll and tumble, live from song to song, kiss to kiss".
18. My Blueberry Nights (2007)
Using desserts as metaphors and a sugar-coated theme with orange and pink-tinted scenes, this movie marks director Wong Kar-Wai's English language debut. After going through a breakup, Elizabeth purges on the desserts in a café eatery owned by Jeremy, who keeps watching her eat, cry and fall asleep on the counter. Elizabeth takes a job as a waitress and goes on a solo trip where on different destinations she meets souls like her who are too lost in the pursuit of love.
She learns something from each of their broken parts. The role played by Portman is of a gambler and a habitual liar, which Elizabeth meets almost at the end of the movie and the movie regains its curiosity.
19. Paris, Je T'aime (2006)
An anthology work of romance and drama that captures love as stages of how people experience love, the way it enfolds, state of heartbreak, grief, and despair. These are reflected in 18 short films in one filmed in 18 different districts of Paris.
Natalie Portman's monologue comes in the tenth part, she is playing Francine, a young actress who calls her blind boyfriend Thomas to break up as her words seem poetic. She appears with emotions in him but with separation, he feels her fade away. This Natalie Portman movie was featured at the Cannes Film Festival.
20. Knight Of Cups (2015)
If you believe in fantasy worlds, fates, destiny, and the moving power behind them, Knight Of Cups might indulge you in your interest. Rick(Christian Bale), a screenwriter in Hollywood, is somewhat successful in his life but with a disturbed personal life with one brother's death and another's on the verge of death. He finds solace in his line of work and distracts himself in relationships with women.
Just like different tarot cards, the story is divided into eight different prologues and encounters on the name of the cards like; The Moon, The Hanged Man, The Hermit, and so on. Each part is based on his relationship with other characters. Portman comes in the seventh part as Elizabeth, but the question is, why is her part called Death?
21. The Other Woman (2009)
Based on the novel Love And Other Impossible Pursuits by Ayelet Waldman, portrays dramatic relationships and transitions after the loss of relations.
Emilia(Portman) is a young budding lawyer who falls in love with her superior Jack, who is already married with a son. They do get married after a rough patch but Emilia suffers from the loss of her child just a few days after her birth. Left in pain and lack of sympathy surrounding her, she now tries to mend her relationship with her stepson William and the plot finds a constant blooming relationship finally.
22. Jane Got A Gun (2005)
An action movie with a western-style set and characters that appear in mafias with cowboy dress codes. The plot of this Natalie Portman movie revolves around an unsettled past with each other. Jane(Portman) who takes refuge in John Bishop's train but later finds herself in another trap while one of Bishop's outlaws, Bill, helps her escape from there and later they both start a new life and welcome a girl child but Bishop trails him down and in a duel, he returns home wounded.
Jane has nowhere to survive, she goes to find her ex-fiance with whom she has a past and a daughter who is mysteriously dead in her run-off. The ex, Dan, helps her in the fight against Bishop and the gang, while Bill couldn't survive.
23. Heat (1995)
A cat-mouse chase story of a detective and a big thief who is preaching his last heist before he retires. The movie revolves mainly around male-led scenarios, the female cast in the movie has connective parts that join in the main character's personal lives.
Portman's character is Lauren, who is the stepdaughter of detective Hanna with his third marriage with her mother Justine. Lauren has suicidal motives and does commit so because of a lack of familial conditions in her life. Heat has a great range of actors in the movie, starring Al Pacino.
24. Where The Heart Is (2000)
A pregnant teen(Portman) hides in Walmart after being abandoned by her boyfriend. One stormy day, she delivers the baby in the Walmart with the help of a librarian and soon she makes it in the media. She finds few friends who too go through circumstances of fates. She soon tries to build herself with those friends in the small town Sequoyah in Oklahoma but fate turns its wheel again heading to repetitive catastrophes in all her friend's life with whom she felt like a family.
Furthermore, she finds love again in the shy librarian, but low self-esteem holds her back. The librarian also helps her build her interest in photography, and she even wins a competition, leading her to Los Angeles where she again meets her boyfriend.
Eventually in the end Novalee and the librarian confess their mutual love for each other. This Natalie Portman movie too is an adaptation of a best-seller of the same name. Natalie has shown essential variation in her acting to show a helpless teen to a compatible woman.
25. Lucy In The Sky (2019)
Loosely showing some true events based on the astronaut Lisa Nowak, Portman is playing the role of Lucy in this sci-fi, psychological genre. She experiences ecstatic life on her mission in space, but after her return from the mission, she feels detached from reality and feels separated from her husband and niece.
She starts an extramarital affair, which add-ons to her paranoid behavior. She keeps clinging to go on new missions but fails on tests. She is jealous of her colleague Erin's achievements, but her erratic behavior nearly destroys her career.
26. The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
A historical romance drama with somewhat manipulated parts of history featuring a profound cast; Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Eric Bana, Benedict Cumberbatch, and more. The Boleyn family is tasked to help King Henry VII, an heir that he is unable to, with the present queen. The Boleyn family seeks it as an opportunity to advance themselves in the court and chooses Anne(Portman) to seduce the king and give them an heir as well as status and power.
Ill-fated, the king is driven towards the other sister Mary, she does succeed in bearing an heir but suffers a miscarriage. Anne returns to get in a relationship with the king but after becoming the queen, as a condition, she gives birth to a girl and gets hatred all over. Both the sisters now turn into rivals and are jealous of the king's attention. Deadly, found guilty to betray the king, Anne suffers execution but who becomes the heir lastly?
27. Goya's Ghosts (2006)
A famous Spanish painter Francisco Goya, subject in his paintings Inés(Portman), is arrested by Spanish inquisitors in case of practicing heresy in a Christian society. She is tormented and tortured till she is unjustly forced to accept guilt. Her father approaches Goya to get her daughter released with his connection with brother Lorenzo, who too assaults her.
Losing her sanity, she is astray and discovers she has a daughter from one of the characters, but she fails to find, Goya knows about her daughter and coincidentally meets her because of her familiar face but does he let Inés know about it.
This dark drama has the English language in the backdrop of the whole Spanish ratio marking the last directorial feature of Miloš Forman.
So that concludes the list of Natalie Portman movies. If you just like her till now, I'm sure you'll fall in love with her and her acting after watching all these movies.
Natalie Portman has immense talent to act out complex genres, in many instances, her talent has carried the focus of the plot, and many times her talent has been exploited. Her voice is an addition to her acting charm with her aristocratic way of perceiving and reflecting upon it.
So, what are you waiting for? Grab some popcorn, call your movie bud, choose a cozy cushion and start the movie marathon.
Let us know in the comment box below that which of these Natalie Portman movies you liked the most or some other movie that we missed out on to list here.
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