Natalie Portman, a serious talent
 

PostED ON 14.10.2025

The actress and director never fails to surprise us with her ability to navigate between auteur cinema, blockbusters and a growing involvement in production. 

© Fox Searchlight Pictures - Protozoa Pictures - Phoenix Pictures / DR
Black Swan (2010)

 
Natalie, without the H. Her parents, admirers of Natalie Wood, chose this spelling for their daughter’s first name. When she was born on 9 June 1981, they had no inkling that like her namesake, she would become one of those child actors whose performances would be lauded by Hollywood but leave her tender youth vulnerable. Natalie Portman's debut in Luc Besson's Léon: The Professional brought her  bittersweet fame, leaving an aftertaste of unease– ‘It was strange for me to be considered a sex symbol at age twelve’ – creating a red line that would determine her future choices. In 1997, she refused to play Lolita in Adrian Lyne's adaptation of the Nabokov novel. ‘In Stanley Kubrick's version, nothing is really shown, but the remake was going to be explicit, so I said, “No, thank you”.’

She was still fourteen when she appeared in Michael Mann’s Heat, all the while continuing her studies with remarkable discipline, given that she had access to an immediately successful career. She studied psychology at Harvard and rarely acted. She took on the role of  Queen Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequels (1999-2005); playing a ‘serious woman’ allowed her to ‘over-state intelligence and reserve’ in order to ‘protect’ herself once again, she explained, while admitting that she hadn’t seen a single episode of the trilogy and laughing that she had even confused it with Star Trek!

At age 22, she incarnated the role of Alice in Closer (2005). For the first time, she embraced her femininity. Her voice gained confidence. Mike Nichols encouraged her to take voice lessons to deepen its timbre. Finally an adult? Undoubtedly. ‘Natalie Portman was quick to recognise the misogynistic discourse regarding the portrayal of actresses on screen’, notes film historian Jacques Demange. Indeed, starting with Closer, her ‘mastery of interiority,’ writes this contributor to Positif, enables her, ‘thanks to a dogged determination,’ to ‘subvert this system of representation.’

© Jackie Productions - Wild Bunch - Fabula - LD Entertainment - Protozoa Pictures / DR
Jackie (2016)

2011 marked the crowning glory year of Black Swan. Slipping into this off-kilter role, Portman delivered a staggering, even frightening performance, taking home both a Golden Globe and an Oscar. Darren Aronofsky had forced her to reinvent herself, asking her to resurrect her childhood voice that she ‘had worked so hard to get rid of...’ But after all, ‘a career only makes sense if you never stop questioning yourself and constantly change skins,’ she mused to Vanity Fair in 2023.  She did exactly that by embodying an impenetrable yet vibrant Jackie Kennedy in Pablo Larrain’s Jackie.

This ability to reinvent herself led her to donning the hat of film producer. In Lyon, she is presenting Arco, a small, animated masterpiece by Ugo Bienvenu. ‘When we met, Ugo said that the film was like a memory to the future. I found that so poetic. To believe that tomorrow will be better.’

Carlos Gomez

Thank you Bac Films,  
Diaphana, Park Circus,  
The Walt Disney Company France.

Master class
Meet with Natalie Portman
Tuesday, 14 October at 11 am at the Pathé Bellecour
> Ticket sales suspended

The programme

Heat by Michael Mann (1995, 2h50)
UGC Confluence Tue 14 17h | Halle Tony Garnier Sun 19 3pm

V for Vendetta by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta, 2006, 2h12)
Institut Lumière (Hangar) Tue 14 7pm | Comœdia Wed 15 11:15am | Saint-Priest Thu 16 8pm | Pathé Bellecour Fri 17 9:15pm | UGC Ciné Cité Internationale Sat 18 8pm | UGC Confluence Sun 19 1:45pm

Black Swan by Darren Aronofsky (2010, 1h48)
Institut Lumière (Villa) Sun 19 10:30am | Institut Lumière (Villa) Sun 19 10:45am

Jackie by Pablo Larrain (2016, 1h40)
UGC Confluence Tur 14 5:15pm | UGC Confluence Thu 16 1:30pm