A Double Date with Natalie

Last week I was channel hopping and I noticed that "Full Metal Jacket" was on tv. And I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be fun to flick from something like 'Two and a Half Men' to 'Full Metal Jacket' and see if my head exploded in confusion?" And then I put the movie on and, sure enough, it was the chilling scene in the film where Vincent D'Onforio's Private Pyle has his complete and incredibly violent breakdown. And I thought "Wow. What are the odds?"

This week I purposely put my brain through the same extreme transition as I sampled not one but two Natalie Portman movies. Two films could not be more different from one another. One film managed to be charming and frivolous while the other is simply daring and amazing.

Let's do brains before charm: "Black Swan" is an incredible film. Not to everyone's taste (after its conclusion, I heard one woman say to her partner, "I don't want to talk about the movie. I have nothing to say.") the film is brilliant, twisted and dazzling.

Natalie Portman plays a young, cowering ballerina who is technically brilliant but completely lacking in passion. When she is given the opportunity to assume the centre stage role, she must somehow find within herself an intensity and confidence that she has never shown before. But such passion comes at a horrendous price.

As the movie progresses it moves into a strange dream world where reality starts to crumble and it here that Portman shows how strong she is in the role. Her transformation from quivering and uncertain to confident and dangerous is amazing to watch. The movie is an incredible showcase for an actress who has never before been given an opportunity to show such range.

Imagine David Cronenberg directing a ballet and that measuring stick will give you an idea of your comfort level with a film that offers one of the best performances of the year.

At the other end of the scale (and literally down the hall at the theatre) is Natalie Portman in a fluffy romantic comedy that manages to be charming and easy-going while not being annoyingly predictable.

It's rare that a movie even attempts to do something different with the basic romantic comedy formula (boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl) but "No Strings Attached" manages to play with the recipe while avoiding the potential for it to fall flat.

The twist in the usual story is that it's Ashton Kutcher who plays the traditional girl friend-type role: his heart has been broken and he would like a long-term romance, but she's afraid of commitment, is not looking for anything serious and basically likes the sin but doesn't want the serious.

The movie takes the usual journey down the romantic road and Kutcher even has a very Andie MacDowell "Four Weddings and a Funeral" moment at the film's end (the only stumble in an otherwise fun script) but the two stars managed to make the trip an enjoyable time.

The film's biggest suprise is how appealing Kutcher is in the role. Kutcher's on-screen characters are usually obnoxious in a charming kind of way (or vice versa to varying degrees and success) but in this movie he manages to be funny, romantic and attractive in a fun, needy manner. If the traditional roles in the film have been reversed, he seems to be in on the joke as he plays the part of the female lead in a story that has the woman playing the usual hard-to-get male role.

The film isn't in the pantheon of romantic comedy greats (which would include "Notting Hill", "The Princess Bride" and "Groundhog Day") but it never stumbles in its confidence and charm.

If anyone thought Natalie Portman would hurt her chance of winning an Oscar by having this film released before the votes are in, "No Strings Attached" only adds to her acting credibility because it is through her performance that Ashton Kutcher looks so believable in the movie. And anyone who can make Kutcher look credible deserves an Academy Award.