#natalie-portman

#natalie-portman

Natalie Portman is camp. It's a reality that the actress' fiercest detractors - and even some of her loyal supporters - seem to miss, yet it's instrumental to enjoying her work. Portman won an Oscar toeing the line between camp and prestige as a tweaked-out ballerina. If you like the Star Wars prequels, "it's camp!" is a common excuse used to justify that affinity.

thanks to its energetically mannered performances and director Cathy Yan's snappy pacing and flair for visual humor. So long as the film remains simple and funny - which it does for most of its 88-minute running time - it works. But how you respond to the picture will probably depend on how you respond to its out-there central performance by Natalie Portman as a brittle, possibly insane Miami gallery owner whose art-world affectations can only partly hide her exposed-nerve desperation.

Aronofsky tried to do some enforced method acting by starting a feud between Portman and Kunis, but both actresses figured out the ruse quickly.