Portman And Malick's Upcoming Collaboration Breeds Excitement

For a Natalie Portman fan, 2011 was an up-and-down year. After rocketing back into the minds of audiences and critics with her captivating, Oscar-winning performance as a troubled ballerina in Black Swan, Portman became one of the most in-demand stars of the year. At first, I too couldn't get enough of this talented, easy-to-adore actress. When I wasn't catching up on every one of Portman's movies that wasn't Phantom Menace, I was reviewing one of her new films. Even though I have been much less than enthusiastic over the Avengers tie-in movies, I was talked into seeing Thor for one reason, after learning that a certain someone was starring in it (not Chris Hemsworth). Yes, it's safe to say that I had a bit of a crush on Natalie Portman.

At the same time, a feeling crept over me by May that Portman's rediscovered dramatic cred might be wasted. My fears could be boiled down to two words: Your Highness. Would the spotlight turn Natalie Portman into little more than a run-of-the-mill commercial star, or would she eventually use her Black Swan success as a springboard toward more critically acclaimed roles? As the second half of 2011 passed without many signs of Natalie, I sincerely hoped for the latter. Fortunately, Portman has taken a step back into the center of movie news this week, signing on to not one, but two, new movies. And both are written and directed by Terence Malick. Natalie Portman, respected full-time actress, is back!

For those who don't know who Malick is, here's a quick refresher. This older director has been releasing infrequent, but well-received films such as The Thin Red Line and Badlands since 1970. Recently, Malick's name has been popping up often due to his award-winning new film, The Tree of Life, which is my pick for best film of 2011. The film starred Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and featured a breakthrough performance from Jessica Chastain. Watching this narrative-bending movie, it becomes clear that Malick aims for a masterpiece with every picture he produces. Tree of Life attempts to connect a small town family's tragedy with the history of the universe, and creates something beautiful and thought-provoking in the process. While not a mainstream hit, the film boasted great performances from Pitt and Chastain, showing that Malick knows how to balance his big ideas with emotional nuance and strong characters.

With their strong filmographies and distinct personas, Portman and Malick teaming up seems like a recipe for a potential critical and commercial hit. The two films they are making together will shoot this year back-to-back, and are called Lawless and Knights of Cups. In true Malick fashion, almost nothing is known about either of these two movies aside from their cast lists. Portman will be joined by fellow Academy Award winners Cate Blanchett and Christian Bale in both films, creating yet two more links between the projects. Blanchett has been out of the spotlight since her villainous turn in last year's Hanna. And while Bale has been a constant topic of conversation due to the pre-Dark Knight Rises mania, he has been absent from American screens since his Oscar-winning portrayal of Dicky Eklund in The Fighter last winter. Adding to the casting news, Ryan Gosling and rising star Rooney Mara will have roles in Lawless, as a lead and supporting character, respectively.

With a stable of insanely popular stars, both of Malick's new projects will generate a lot of buzz once more details on them are released. The fact that Malick is making new films at all should be good news to anyone skeptical about this year's parade of 3-D rereleases (I would make a Star Wars joke here, but making fun of George Lucas twice in one article has become too easy). Of course, the downside of this news is that Malick has become famous in Hollywood for his exceptionally long stints in the editing room. The Tree of Life took almost three years to hit theaters after Malick finished principal photography. Still, the fact that all these talented people are converging for two features is a success in and of itself. And I will never complain about having to wait for movies with Natalie Portman.