An Oscar-winning actress as well as a successful producer, writer, and director, Natalie Portman has carved out a distinct career in global cinema based on outstanding performances from a very young age. She’s been a part of some of the biggest blockbuster franchises of all time and the smallest indie gems of the modern era over her twenty-five-year career, still appearing to just be getting started. Her fearless emotionality and dedication to her roles make another Oscar for acting seem like an inevitability. Here are the ten best movies that Natalie Portman has starred in, according to IMDb.
Closer (7.2)
Portman stars as a deeply mysterious woman caught in the middle of Mike Nichols’ drama of infidelity and mistrust. She plays the girlfriend of Jude Law’s unfaithful writer and becomes somewhat of a wild card in the ensuing tangle of emotions between Law’s character, Julia Roberts’ equally-unfaithful lover and her husband played by Clive Owen.
The unrelenting drama from Patrick Marber’s screenplay, based on his play of the same name, would garner praise that was only outshone by the performances, with Portman and Owen both being nominated for Oscars for their performances and winning Golden Globes.
Cold Mountain (7.2)
Anthony Minghella’s epic Civil War drama, also starring Jude Law, was as equally awards-laden as Closer but contains a much smaller role for Portman.
As Law’s Confederate deserter attempts to make it back to his titular home, he encounters several characters and situations on his journey. Portman plays a young woman widowed by the war and left alone on her small farm with her young child. She takes in Law’s weary traveler and, when soldiers arrive demanding food and taking what they want by force, it causes one of the film’s numerous violent confrontations.
Paris, je t’aime (7.3)
Paris, je t’aime is an anthology movie made up of eighteen short vignettes—all from different directors and starring various actors from around the world—which each revolve around the titular city of lights.
The names attached to the film—from both behind, and in front of the camera—are very impressive and Portman appears in a segment near the end of the film, directed by German filmmaker Tom Tykwer. It involves a blind man, whom Portman’s character is dating, reflecting on their relationship and where he believes it may have gone wrong after receiving what he interprets as a breakup phone call from her.
Garden State (7.4)
Zach Braff’s feature debut as a director was quirky and unexpected in lots of ways, with Portman’s performance as the female lead in the film’s odd love story being one of its main highlights. She plays an eccentric character who quickly falls for Braff’s emotionally distant actor when he returns to his home town in the wake of his mother’s death.
Aside from essentially being the heart of the film, scenes that prominently featured Portman’s character would be the most remembered. The scene in which her character meets Braff’s and introduces him to the band The Shins becoming somewhat of a pop culture landmark of the mid-2000s.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (7.5)
Still the most loved of the Star Wars prequels by a considerable margin on both IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, George Lucas’ grand finale brought the Star Wars saga full circle. Considering it as a film where few audience members wouldn’t know the end of the story going into it, Revenge of the Sith found very memorable—and occasionally surprising—ways to deliver plot beats that had been nearly thirty years in the making.
Portman returns as trilogy mainstay Padmé Amidala and, with the exception of Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, hers may be the trilogy’s most significant performance.
Black Swan (8.0)
Portman stars as a timid ballet dancer in Darren Aronofsky’s barnstorming psychological horror. Opposite Mila Kunis’ tempting devil character, Portman’s repressed lead dancer embarks on a dark journey of self-discovery where her inner desires begin to seep out in her quest for her inner Black Swan.
Black Swan would prove to be a hugely atypical triumph, a very financially successful auteur horror movie about ballet that was both a hit with audiences and critics. It also received several big nominations at the Oscars despite the Academy’s famous aversion to horror films and won Portman her long-awaited Oscar for Best Actress.
V for Vendetta (8.2)
James McTeigue’s adaptation of Alan Moore’s popular graphic novel found enough acclaim to have its own separate fanbase. The politically-charged story follows Portman’s character, Evey Hammond, as she becomes involved with a masked terrorist, simply known as “V," in a dystopian future London.
The story’s overall anti-authoritarian spirit has struck a chord with audiences the world over, V’s Guy Fawkes mask rebounding into popular culture once again, only much more powerfully thanks to the far-reaching appeal and availability of cinema.
Heat (8.2)
Michael Mann’s searing crime masterpiece was all about its performances on so many levels. It would be easy for most actors to be totally lost in the shadow of the first big-screen confrontation between the powerhouses of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, but a flawless supporting cast still shines.
Heat was Portman’s second movie and one of the few crime movies of that era that could be argued as better than her first movie (we’ll get to that next). She plays the young stepdaughter of Pacino’s character and her unflinching performance alongside one of the most famous movie actors on all-time, at the peak of his game, demonstrated just how far her career could go.
Léon: The Professional (8.5)
Luc Besson’s beloved crime film is difficult to pin down to just one tone or really just one genre. Sometimes comedic and life-affirming, sometimes intensely peculiar and violent, Léon is a one-of-a-kind with an appropriately devout following.
The film was Portman’s first credited screen role and a huge part for any young actor to play. She stars as a young girl who’s taken in by a neighboring hitman after the brutal murder of her entire family, and her quest for revenge develops a unique and difficult relationship with her solitary new friend.
Avengers: Endgame (8.6)
Portman stirred up the imaginations of fans when she arrived for the premiere of Marvel Studios’ farewell to the Avengers as we know it. They were expecting the unexpected after the twisty-turny fun of the previous chapter, Infinity War, but few were anticipating the return of her character from the Thor franchise. (Especially since Portman appeared to have retired from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and her character had not appeared in any of the previous Avengers films.)
She is only very briefly in the movie and didn’t actually film any new footage for it, but Marvel would soon announce Portman’s return in the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder.
