2. Black Swan (2010)
The most recent entry on the list and the one for which Natalie Portman won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her part as Nina, Darren Aronofskys 2010 psychological ballet horror; Black Swan is perhaps Portmans biggest performance and in a number of ways. Taking into account the theatrics, the dedication, the box office, Portman is the star here and theres nothing Vincent Cassel can do about it. The supposed controversy regarding a dance double is tiresome as Portmans performance here is phenomenal, dance double or not, this is Portmans movie. She is in (almost) every scene. An expected love-it-or-hate-it movie, upon release the balance surprisingly heavily tilted towards love it. Even the hate it camp found it hard to knock Portmans performance. Portmans performance in Black Swan is the reason clichés describing good performances exist; she is captivating at its most captivating, which in a film like this is no easy task. Make no mistake, Black Swan is not a subtle film, its as theatrical as the ballet itself, a gloriously lush production packaged in a world of jealousy and darkness. With the two sides of the swan at such extremes the challenge for Portman is huge. Perfect as the put-upon, mollycoddled, mummys-little-girl, white swan, Portmans Nina is suitably vulnerable and convincing yet as the transformation escalates Portman gets dark but doesnt totally convince, but then neither does Nina. By the end when spoiler alert the black swan is fully realised, Portman is unrecognisable, she has transformed, she is the character as is Nina. Portmans achievement in Black Swan should perhaps be number 1 pick, despite perhaps not her most iconic role, as an actor it feels like her biggest achievement. In her relatively short career, Portmans role as Nina is reaches levels many can only hope to reach.