Women of Action: Natalie Portman – Jane Got A Gun
The Western genre has taken quite a beating over the past couple of decades. Gone are the days of John Wayne, Gary Cooper, or Clint Eastwood. Very few actors outside of Kevin Costner or Ed Harris seem to even be able to pull off the bravado of the Wild West badass and I don’t know if you recognized it or not but Costner and Harris are both old farts. Someone needs to take up the fight…
Enter the always beautiful Natalie Portman. She’s been on our site several times before, each appearance giving me an opportunity to exploit sexy or seductive photos of her for the pleasure of myself and other debaucherous people. Today’s post, however, will be slightly different. Let’s talk about Natalie’s new film Jane Got A Gun.
The story told in Jane Got A Gun is one that we’ve all seen 3 million times. It’s a very simple tale of revenge that could have easily starred any number of scruffy looking dudes. What makes Jane Got A Gun slightly different from the other Westerns with essentially the same story is that Natalie Portman is the one doing all the revenging and not some gunslinging Wyatt Earp type. In fact, the best thing that JGAG does is to not make Jane some incredible sharpshooting expert. She can definitely handle a rife, no doubt, but she’s not the cold blooded Josey Wales that normally faces off against these types.
I’m told that this film is a loose remake of the 1971 film Hannie Caulder, starring the lovely Raquel Welch. It’s also a film that has gone through a serious amount of difficulties before finally making its way to our television screens. Ultimately, after losing a director (Lynne Ramsay) and a pair of starring actors (Michael Fassbender, Jude Law), Joel Edgerton and Natalie Portman finally finished the film in 2013 but it would still be three years before the final product would make it my stream machine.
The big question you could be asking yourself is “should I watch this movie or not?” The fact that you’re still reading tells me that you either love looking at pictures of Natalie Portman or you actually have interest in this new but still very classic Western tale. If the latter is true than Jane Got A Gun is most likely a film that you’ll be pleased with. The tone will be reminiscent of modern Westerns like 3:10 to Yuma but the strong female lead will make the liberals happy. Jane and her one-time beau Dan Frost (Edgerton) end up teaming up against some no-good outlawing assholes led by Obi Wan himself, Ewan McGregor. There are no High Noon duels or John Wayne one-liners for the pair as they defend their frontier cabin against the rapers and kidnappers who are trying to kill Jane’s injured husband. Yes, Jane is married to someone other than Dan Frost. The film does a fine job of developing the drama between the two as they await the outlaws with killing on their minds.
Natalie Portman is her usual talented self in Jane Got A Gun, but it’s certainly a bit different from movies she has made in the past. She has done action, and also appeared in the Civil War film Cold Mountain, but her role here is both refreshing as a fan of the Western genre and entertaining to watch as someone who just like a well paced movie. If you get a chance, check it out.
If you need further evidence that Portman is a straight-up badass chick:
