After a couple of years away from the spotlight, Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman is poised to return to the cinema this coming July in Thor: Love and Thunder, reprising the mighty role of Jane Foster, which she also recently played in a single episode of the beloved Disney+ series What If...?
No stranger to epic blockbusters and comic book movies alike, Portman has also made a career out of working with some of the finest directors in Hollywood, delivering one terrific performance after another since making her screen debut in 1994. With Love and Thunder on the brink, it's time to see how Letterboxd feels about Natalie Portman's filmography.
Jackie (2016) — 3.5/5
Directed with the same surreal, off-kilter energy Pablo Larrain injected into Spencer, Jackie finds Natalie Portman giving a convincingly loopy turn as Jackie Kennedy in the aftermath of President John Kennedy's assassination in 1963. Haunting, lyrical, and psychologically stirring, the film earned Portman the third Oscar nod of her career.
The overwhelming sense of grief and loss Jackie feels is reflected in her growing sense of isolation and insolation, as she recedes into her mind and recalls bittersweet memories with a whirlwind of emotion. As such, Portman also earned a BAFTA and SAG nomination.
Annihilation (2018) — 3.6/5
Alex Garland's cerebrally trippy sci-fi action-thriller Annihilation finds Portman leading a scientific charge to find her missing husband, Kane (Oscar Isaac), who disappeared in a mysterious disaster zone in which the laws of physics cease to be. Gallant yet vulnerable, Lena (Portman) must make the ultimate sacrifice to save her true love without compromising humanity's future.
With five strong female leads heading various scientific disciplines, the movie is a rousing celebration of female empowerment as well as a genuinely unnerving cautionary tale of environmental protectionism. Portman nails her role as a confounded leader torn between her head (logic) and heart (emotion).
Mr. Gaga (2015) — 3.7/5
Thanks to her Oscar-winning performance in Black Swan, Portman has the distinct qualifications to participate in Mr. Gaga: A True Story of Love and Dance. The documentary celebrates the work of Ohad Naharin, a world-renowned leader of the Batsheva Dance Company.
Also a native Israelite, Portman has a unique perspective on the famous dance choreographer and speaks candidly about the ways he inspired her and others like her to pursue dancing. Like Bob Fosse before him, Naharin is responsible for reshaping the language of modern dancing styles that directly benefitted Portman in Black Swan.
The Darjeeling Limited (2007) — 3.7/5
Despite appearing in a brief cameo, Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited is among Portman's best films, per Letterboxd. While Portman does reprise the role of Jack's ex-girlfriend in the spinoff short film Hotel Chevalier, she hardly appears in the feature film.
Arguably Wes Anderson's most underrated movie The Darjeeling Limited reunites three estranged, drug-addled brothers on a train to meet their ailing mother in India. As the three vow to reconnect on the problematic road trip, Jack tries to reconcile with his unnamed ex. The film marks the only time Portman worked with Wes Anderson, who is currently finishing his new movie Asteroid City for a 2022 release.
This Changes Everything (2018) — 3.8/5
Still, Portman joins the likes of such influential voices as Reese Witherspoon, Shonda Rhimes, Meryl Streep, Sandra Oh, Tiffany Haddish, and many others who make a rousing call for action and sweeping systemic change to give women more creative opportunities.
V For Vendetta (2005) — 3.8/5
From the brilliant movie minds of the Wachowski sisters, Portman seared the screen as Evey in V For Vendetta, a cautionary tale of dystopic fascism that feels more salient by the passing day. Indeed, the prophetic picture imagines a future in which a highly oppressive world government must be overthrown by a heroic vigilante.
At first blush, Portman's Evey feels like an imprisoned damsel in distress with little agency. Over time, however, she proves just as capable if not more than V (Hugo Weaving), her unlikely accomplice, as they work to restore power to the people. With style and substance in spades, here's hoping Portman and the Wachowskis work together again in the future.
Avengers: Endgame (2019) — 3.9/5
It should surprise nobody that Avengers: Endgame is named among Portman's most entertaining movies. The highest-grossing Marvel movie netted more than $2.7 billion worldwide, marking one of the biggest cinematic events in moviegoing history. For her part, Portman reprised her role as Jane Foster in the subplot involving Thor and Asgard.
While she is just a small cog in a much larger blockbuster machine full of countless characters given a brief moment to shine, Portman still brings the same level of commitment and believability as she does in a leading role starring in every scene. Expect more of the same in Love and Thunder.
Leon (1994) — 4.1/5
Portman's feature film debut remains one of her most celebrated on Letterboxd and every other review aggregator. Despite recently speaking about the pain of being sexualized as a child, Leon: The Professional continues to be hailed as a touching and tender coming-of-age tale about a childlike assassin and his adopted charge Mathilda (Portman).
Written and directed by Luc Besson, Leon (Jean Reno) takes in Mathilda after her parents are killed and teaches her how to be a hitman while also taking care of her. Portman gives a precociously moving turn as a lost young girl seemingly without hope, making a profound bond with an otherwise icy killer in unexpected ways.
Black Swan (2010) — 4.1/5
A life-changing film in more ways than one, Black Swan deserves to be mentioned among Portman's finest films to date. She not only earned Oscar gold for her tour-de-force performance, but she also met her eventual husband Benjamin Millepied while making the movie.
Written and directed by Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan tells the story of the modern-day fairytale Swan Lake as seen through the eyes of Nina Sayers (Portman), a demure ballerina who loses her sense of identity when competing for the starring role at her theater company. In a wickedly immersive performance, Portman plumbs the psychological depths of Nina while giving an electric physical turn on the stage.
Heat (1995) — 4.2/5
According to Letterboxd, Natalie Portman's best movie to date is Heat, Michael Mann's epic Los Angeles crime story notorious for pairing Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in the same scenes together for the first time. It's quite astounding that Portman's first two features remain among her three best films to date.