Natalie Portman, CANNOT act

DarthHomer- you better be j/k with your comment "Besides, we all know girls don't like Star Wars anyway"- I could beat your sorry butt in a game of Star Wars trivial pursuit any day!!!

To show my sheer devotion, I'm not a morning person, never have been, but when Star Wars premiered on Showtime, back in the early 80's I woke up at 5am to watch it before school and watched every single viewing of it the month it came out on cable. My sister and I screamed at my mom to get cable and Showtime, just so we could see it over and over.

I could say other things that would make me appear "sad and pathetic" to those who do not understand the wonderful madness which belongs with being a true Star Wars fan- but I will stop here.

 

Yeah, Paquin rules!!!

My other alternatives:

Eliza Dushku

Thora Birch

Lindsay Felton

Heh heh heh...

Anyway, gotta go sleep now! Carry on folks!

 

Yeah, OK Drew Barrymore's what 30?

It's not old, but you'll be hard pressed to convince me:

A. She's supossed to be 24.

B. She falls in love with Hayden.

 

I kind of agreed with this critic's quote. I don't think they are ALL bad performances, just sometimes. But the weakest link is Natalie I think.

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Their performances are self-conscious and flat, or maybe Lucas simply isn't good with actors anymore. Whatever, they pale beside Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst in "Spider-Man," a bouncy film that makes "Attack of the Clones" look even more middle-aged.

The actors' problem, of course, could also be the unreadable dialogue they have to mouth. No one really talks in "Attack of the Clones." They recite dialogue -- or, in the case of the members of the Senate, they pontificate and make self-important pronouncements. Many words of wisdom are dropped here. All in all, the audience feels preached at. And after 90 minutes of the film's characters marching around and mostly talking -- talking arch, colorless talk, at that -- the intergalactic and gladiatorial action that drives the film's effects-laden last hour is most welcomed.

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...while Portman looks downright ridiculous in the action scenes. This actress should be playing "Marjorie Morningstar," not an action heroine. She seems to be another former child performer who, like Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, lost something when moving into young adulthood.

She's dull and, frankly, I don't look forward to her in the next film come May 2005 -- a time that seems as "far, far away" as the galaxy depicted here but that will be with us before we know it.

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Bwuhahah.

 

Very good review.

 

...Look at some other facts too. Not just the director. Natalie doesn't extremely joy playing in Sci-Fi flicks. So she probably doesn't care all that much about her acting either.

 

Drew Barrymore? No. That tubby thespian would be the last person to cast as Padme.

Yeah, Portman and Lucas is like oil and water in terms of acting. Sure some of Lucas' dialogue is awful, but Natalie could do better ("Perhaps with your presence, the mystery surrounding this threat will be revealed." Jesus Christ.).

She's hotter than Carrie Fischer, but a monkey with down syndrome can act better (Yes, I have seen Leon and even Heat, and she can act there, but Lucas is just... blah.).

 

Pardon me if any of this has been said, I only read the first and last pages.

Acting in SW is different from probably any other film currently out there. There are so many scenes where the actor and the floor are the only real objects, and all the rest is bluescreen - takes a lot of energy to imagine a bunch of stuff you've seen in storyboards WHILE saying your lines and hitting your marks. It's my understanding that Ewan - one I imagine we'll all agree is, at the very least, a quite competent actor - was still frustrated on Ep 2, even after having the experience of Ep 1. So it's fair to say SW is a unique challenge to an actor.

Now, I HATE the way Padme is portrayed - she has no inflection, no personality, no soul. But I think it's oversimplifying to just say, "She's not a fan and doesn't get it", though that may well be part of the problem. But more importantly, I think one of two things is causing this: (1) Natalie just can't do the bluescreen thing, which doesn't detract from the good acting she can do under more normal circumstances (a lot of "great" actors wouldn't do well with it) or (2) George wants Padme to come across this way, possibly thinking she seems level-headed and calm, to counteract Anakin's passions. If the second case is correct, this happens a lot in film - the director thinks a character is coming across one way, but the viewers see something else entirely. (To me, she comes across like she's on Valium by the handful.)

It's really disappointing. I mean, Leia saved every butt that got saved at the end of ESB - she may not have been well-developed, but she got to be a real hero. Padme is just a mobile standee - a petri dish for the gesticulation of the next generation of Skywalkers.

As for Mark Hamill, few actors would have done the climactic scene of ESB so realistically - he looked absolutely hideous and a little ridiculous in his reaction to "No, I am your father", but if you think about it, that's how anyone would look under those circumstances. He may not be the world's best actor, but I think he really portrayed Luke well, and he also was great in The Big Red One, and he was actually pretty good in Slipstream, too, though it's hard to tell because the movie is so craptacular.

Oh, and I *do* consider ESB Harrison's best role ever. He brought a very human angst to Han in that one. After that, except for Regarding Henry (annoying as it is), he chose roles that paid well but weren't emotionally challenging, so it's hard to call them "great acting" in my opinion. I'm curious about the new one with him and Liam Neeson - it looks more challenging.

 

JohnWilliams: So this is what I conclude... you thought that ALL the actors sucked but you're picking on Natalie because......? You just really hate her, right? What's a better word? Detest? Abominate? Abhor? Loathe?

 

Aw come on.... John Williams is entitled to his opinion.

I don't think we need to flame other posters here. Calm down, Amidoll.

BTW: So you think Amidalla was on Valium? <GRINS>

PS: But you don't have to do it. I don't agree with some of the posters, and I don't see the reason why I should get mad for something that these actors could care less anyway.

I don't think Portman cares what we write here =)


PSS: I am here because it is my day off and I don't feel like going out... < HUGE GRINS>

 

You know what? You're right BlueMules.
I'm sorry JohnWilliams. I shouldn't flame you. You're entitled to your own opinion.

Why do I even care? Why does ANYONE care?!?! WHY ARE WE MAKING SUCH A BIG DEAL OUT OF THIS?

It's.Just.A.Movie.
My life does not revolve around Star Wars.

I think I am on Vallium.

 

Why do we care that Natalie Portman's acting is terrible? Is that what you're asking?

 

Amidoll, it's not just Portman, because some of Ewan's and Hayden's line deliveries sound dull too. But it sounds like they are trying, and I'm extra critical of Natalie because:

1)She has said she "gave up on her performance in TPM because she wasn't having fun."

2)She said she has seen her performance in TPM and noted how dissapointing it was. She resolved to improve in AOTC.

3)She did improve, but not by much. She wasted one film and half-@$$ed another. (IMO)That's why I'm very dissapointed in her. For any other film I could care less. But for SW I expected more from her.

I could pick on a lot of other things regarding AOTC, but I want to deal my criticisms out in small increments, so as to not overwhelm the gushers on this board.

 

JohnWilliams: Don't worry, I understand why you must project your frustrations on Natalie. You musn't supress these feelings. They need to be released.

I'm gonna order pizza now. Anyone want some?

 

What are you ordering? ;-)

 

Ah..TreeCave about Harrison....

"WITNESS"?? OR..Hell "Raiders of the Lost Ark" I mean not anyone can make that role as good. In the hands of another Indy may have been just another action hero... Ever seen "Presumed Innocent"? Quite a balancing act to make it ambiguous as to whether or not he was guilty. I can name some others but you have made yourself QUITE the generalization there.

As for Portman....she was fine.

 

My friends and I are ordering:
Extreme Cheese and Hawaiian.
Come and get 'em.

 

I think Natalie Portman does okay acting in the beginning of TPM and gets better as the movie progesses. She is great in AOTC. Like any of you who say she can't can do better. What's done is done. If they find a new Padme for Ep. 3, it will be very different and could ruin the whole prequel episodes. Natalie Portman does a good job and is better than the guy who played Anakin in TPM.

Anyway, someone email me at amidala14@fanforce.net
Summer vacation is making me so bored I could scream. I wish I had registered as Padme and not Amidala. When I first saw TPM I didn't know Padme was actually part of her name. I thought it was something she made up.

 

LOVED Hawaiian pizza!

BTW, is it thick crust or the thin ones? Can you order extra red pepper please? =)

 

While I don't realy like Padme in the first place I must defend Natalie. I don't usualy defend actors, (I'm a techie nerd ), but I think she's just playing the role. I don't think that GL does such a bad job eaither in creating Padme. Except for a few corny lines, there's a lot of good diolouge(spelling?). Example: Ewen. He has played everything from a Jedi, to a poet, to a heroin addict, yet when you see TPM and AOTC you don't see him as he is in "Moulon Rouge" or "Trainspotting", you see him as Obi-Wan. He's a good actor and gets into character well, so I don't think that it's GL writting a bad script, her bad acting is just a representation of her charector.

 

I agree, after all she is playing a senator. She can't go around wearing her heart on her sleave.

 

who is Anna Paquin?? Drew barrymore is okay. But she wouldn't EVEN fit the part... Anna...whoever she is...NO!!

what amidala14 said. okay?? Quit Picking on NATALIE. Hmmm what else?? Im running out of things to say... la la la la... okay to FatherVader. I admire Natalie a lot-not because I love her, but because she makes good choices. School is important. And I can Understand that. Give Natalie a break PLEASE! THERE IS STILL Ep3!!!! C'mon!!

 

OMG...you don't know Anna Paquin?

Have you seen the Piano? She won OSCAR for that role.

I think she can do a better job than Nat. ( JUST MY OPINION)

 

Anna?? I might have seen her in x-men or something...was she in it?? lol. Well This thread really isn' t about anna. its about Natalie. but anyways...


la la la la la la la la la la la mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

Anna Paquin was in the Piano, Hurley Burley, and she Played "rogue" in X-Men. She rocks!!!!! Big time. Ten times better than Natalie. Why don't they use Fairuza Balk to play a female Sith? (Sith WItch...Ooops...so sorry )

Whend Did GL stop being good with actors?
Ahem. He never was!!!! He used to say: "if I could work without Actors, I would"...seen Jar Jar lately. He's good at spotting an actor with a certain "screen presence" and then he hopes to god they can bring it on screen in his film.

Harrison could make a movie about "cheese grating" seem like a damn masterpiece action flick.

Leia was so good because well frankly...she is totally insane! What you saw of Carrie is what she's like in real life!

Luke....well, let's skip that one...Anyone seen "Corvette Summer?"

Portman was really good in "Where the Heart Is", "Beautiful Girls", and even in the "Professional" (but we can't count that one because she wasn't even an adult!)

The problem with Portman is not just the "John Hughes Kids Grow Up" Syndrome. She needs emotion in the script to tap into. And she has none provided for her here! They tell her...OK, act in love, act like you're doting...Yeah? How? Was there a backdrop for this?

As for action...Padme has done more action sequences than Leia ever did!