Top 15 Best Natalie Portman Movies of All Time Ranked

Natalie Portman has captivated audiences for over three decades with her versatility, intelligence, and emotional depth. From her unforgettable debut in Léon: The Professional to her Oscar-winning performance in Black Swan, Portman has built one of the most impressive filmographies in Hollywood. Whether she’s portraying a complex historical figure, a sci-fi icon, or a deeply flawed artist, her performances consistently elevate every project she touches.

In this list, we rank the 15 best Natalie Portman movies of all time, celebrating the roles that showcase her incredible range and lasting impact on cinema. Whether you’re a longtime fan or just discovering her work, these films are essential viewing for anyone who appreciates powerful storytelling and top-tier acting.

15. Goya’s Ghosts (2006)

Set amid the chaos of the Spanish Inquisition, Goya’s Ghosts paints a portrait of beauty colliding with cruelty. Portman’s Inés goes from innocent muse to tragic symbol, her life unraveling under political and religious fanaticism. There’s a haunting, almost painterly stillness in her performance that mirrors Goya’s own despairing art. Milos Forman fills the screen with ornate visuals and moral decay, letting Portman’s emotional precision guide the chaos. It’s dark, ambitious, and a little under-appreciated – a historical drama that burns slowly but leaves its mark.

14. Song to Song (2017)

Drifting through Malick’s kaleidoscope of music, passion, and regret, Portman’s Rhonda feels like a heartbeat caught between chords. She wanders the Austin music scene searching for meaning in moments that flicker by like guitar riffs. The film barely cares about plot – it’s all feeling and fragments, which makes her quiet vulnerability pop even more. Rhonda’s story of temptation and loss feels almost improvised, as if we’re eavesdropping on a dream. Portman gives the haze a human pulse, grounding Malick’s free-floating style.

13. Vox Lux (2018)

Some movies aim for chaos; Vox Lux practically weaponizes it. Portman’s Celeste is a pop icon born from trauma, her fame glittering on the surface but rotting underneath. Every gesture, every outburst feels dangerous, unpredictable – like watching someone both self-destruct and perform it for the crowd. Director Brady Corbet uses music and media to dissect how tragedy becomes entertainment, and Portman tears right into it. It’s uncomfortable, weirdly hypnotic, and full of electric energy that sticks long after the credits roll.

12. Beautiful Girls (1996)

There’s a bittersweet charm to Beautiful Girls, a 90s dramedy where snow, nostalgia, and quarter-life crises mix in equal measure. Portman, barely a teen, brings startling intelligence to Marty, the next-door neighbor who’s both muse and moral compass for a man twice her age. Her wit cuts through the small-town melancholy like sunlight on ice. She’s not the star, but somehow she leaves the biggest impression. Watching her here feels like witnessing a star forming in real time – subtle, smart, and utterly magnetic.

11. Jane Got a Gun (2016)

Frontier grit meets quiet resilience in Jane Got a Gun, a Western that fought its way to the screen and came out swinging. Portman’s Jane isn’t waiting to be rescued – she’s defending her home, her past, and her own sense of justice. Beneath the dust and gunfire, there’s a pulse of heartbreak and redemption that gives the story real heft. The film’s rough production history shows in spots, but Portman’s conviction never wavers. It’s a survival story told with grace and gunpowder, and she owns every frame.

10. Cold Mountain (2003)

A sweeping epic that takes you into the heart of the Civil War – not just the battles, but what people risk for love, home, and survival. Natalie Portman shows up as Sara, a small role but one that underscores how the war touches nearly everyone, even those we don’t expect. Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and Renée Zellweger headline, but the supporting cast (including Portman) adds texture and realism. Anthony Minghella directs with a painter’s eye: gorgeous landscapes, meticulous historical detail, and emotional heft. Some moments linger – slowly, beautifully – so it’s the kind of movie that rewards patience. If you want Portman in large canvas dramas, Cold Mountain delivers.

9. Hesher (2010)

Not your garden-variety road movie: Hesher is messy, loud, and oddly touching, with Portman playing Nicole, a mother trying to keep things together amid chaos. Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Hesher barges in, emotional anarchy in leather jacket form, and Portman’s relatively quieter performance gives the film a grounding point. The humor is black, the grief is real, and the soundtrack sometimes feels like it’s screaming to be heard. Director Spencer Susser doesn’t offer easy answers – just raw pain, weird new friendships, and occasional catharsis. It’s imperfect in all the right ways, and Portman shows she can hold her own in madness.

8. Annihilation (2018)

Step through the shimmering boundary and prepare to have your sense of normalcy folded, twisted, and rebuilt. Portman plays Lena, a biologist whose grief leads her into the mysterious “Shimmer,” a zone where biology, logic, and nature warp together. The film mixes philosophical horror, science fiction, and emotional depth – you’ll see mutated landscapes, but also internal mutation: guilt, fear, identity. Under Alex Garland’s direction, Annihilation is beautiful, disturbing, and smart; it doesn’t give you all the answers, which is both frustrating and exhilarating. The visuals linger (sometimes in nightmares), and Portman’s precision keeps the film’s emotional core intact. For anyone into science-thrillers with a soul, this one is essential.

7. Garden State (2004)

You could call this the indie romance that asks: what if your hometown could heal you if you let it – and maybe music helps too? Portman’s Sam is quirky, wounded, and perfectly offbeat; her chemistry with Zach Braff gives the film its heart without it ever slipping into cliche. There are moments of weirdness (veterans of indie cinema know: this is intentional), but also those small slices of real life – awkward silences, sudden bursts of laughter. Braff’s direction takes low budget and turns it into intimacy. It’s a movie about return, connection, and the joy of small revelations. Garden State reminds us that sometimes love is found not in grand gestures, but in shared absurdity.

6. V for Vendetta (2005)

Here’s a dystopian fable full of masks, monologues, and revolution – plus Portman’s show-stopper performance as Evey Hammond, who begins terrified and ends burning with purpose. The film mixes political thriller with philosophical ideas: what does freedom cost, what happens when resistance becomes performance, and when personal safety collides with moral duty. Visually it’s striking: stark architecture, rain-soaked streets, iconic symbolism, and a masked rebel whose every act challenges the audience to ask questions. Portman anchors the film’s emotional arc – her transformation earns its catharsis. Even now, V for Vendetta taps into fears of authoritarianism, making it relevant as ever.

5. May December (2023)

Todd Haynes’ May December unspools like a psychological tug-of-war between past scandal, public gaze, and private identity – Natalie Portman plays Elizabeth, an actress who scrutinizes a real-life scandal she’s about to portray on screen. The tension builds not with explosions but with loaded silences and sideways looks, especially when Elizabeth steps into a family dynamic that's part tabloid fodder, part human frailty. Portman’s performance holds sharp edges; you believe the actress inside the actress trying to understand – and maybe also exploiting – the truth. Visually, the film is elegant, campy in its style and precise in its drama, with Haynes letting the camera linger just long enough to unsettle. It’s seldom comfortable, is constantly compelling, and reminds you how messy truth can be when someone else tells it. | © Project Infinity

4. Jackie (2016)

In Jackie, Portman becomes Jacqueline Kennedy with a voice that trembles between grief and duty, moments after one of America’s most traumatic days. Director Pablo Larraín keeps tight suspense around her personal rituals – choosing clothes, remembering Camelot, framing what must be preserved in public memory. Rather than a biopic, it feels like a study of mourning – how one woman stands inside history and finds order in chaos. The production design deserves its own ovation: the White House interiors, the deep greens and pastel pinks, the isolated grandeur – it’s all there. Portman carries emotional weight with subtle grace, letting sadness be both public and painfully intimate. If you want a film that’s as much about what we remember as how we cope, Jackie is unforgettable.

3. Closer (2004)

Romance, betrayal, lust, guilt – Closer doesn’t let you dance gently but pushes you into the shattering bits between lovers. Portman’s Alice is charming, wounded, sardonic, and painfully real; her voice cuts through the lies people tell themselves. With Julia Roberts, Jude Law, and Clive Owen tangled in the plot, Closer becomes a psychological chess game about love’s dirty secrets. Mike Nichols directs with sharpness, letting every scene feel like emotional pressure building to breaking points. Clever dialogue, awkward truths, and sudden confessions make this one of Portman’s most raw supporting turns. It’s a film that hits you in the chest – not with a punch, but with honest heartbreak.

2. Léon: The Professional (1994)

A young Natalie Portman lands her breakout role in Léon: The Professional, as Mathilda, a girl thrust into survival when her family is destroyed by men far more corrupt than she ever imagined. Luc Besson weaves together tenderness and violence in unexpected ways: a hitman as reluctant guardian, childhood stripped raw, and violence as both horror and a form of protection. Mathilda’s relationship with Léon is unsettling, complicated, human all the way – and Portman delivers the emotional weight of that complexity with astonishing maturity for her age. The film’s style – noirish, moody, flooded with rain and shadows – makes the quiet moments scream just as loud as the gunshots. It’s a role that made people sit up and recognize Portman as a force, not just a child actor. Léon remains iconic for its aesthetic, its moral grayness, and Portman’s unforgettable performance.

1. Black Swan (2010)

This is Natalie Portman at her most fearless: Nina Sayers in Black Swan starts as a ballerina desperate to be perfect – and winds up dancing with her demons until the mirror cracks. Darren Aronofsky crafts a psychological horror ballet, where costume, movement, and obsession intertwine. Portman trained for months, tip-toed through hallucinations, and became both the White Swan and the Black Swan in ways that still haunt. The film balances terror and beauty so tightly you feel dizzy watching it. From the suffocating pressure of the ballet company to Nina’s unraveling grip on self, Black Swan is as much about fear of failure as it is about passion. It’s also the performance that won her the Oscar – and it earns that trophy every time you revisit it.