Natalie Portman Says the Idea of a ‘Female Gaze’ Is ‘Reductive of Women’s Individuality’
variety.comElsa Keslassy International Correspondent Natalie Portman may be an outspoken feminist and co-founder of a female-driven soccer club (Angel City FC), but she isn’t a believer in the so-called “female gaze.” In an interview with Vanity Fair France for the magazine’s 10-year anniversary issue, conducted prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Portman argued that “to say that a female director has a particular gaze is reductive of women’s individuality and points of view.” The Harvard-educated actor also said that gender isn’t a factor when she chooses projects. “Female directors should have the same opportunities as their male counterparts.
But the experience of working with a director has to do with the individual and it doesn’t relate to gender,” Portman said. Portman, who recently relocated to Paris with her husband Benjamin Millepied and their two children, also discussed her upcoming project “May December,” directed by Todd Haynes.
In “May December” (which she co-produced via her banner MountainA), Portman plays Elizabeth Berry, a famous actress preparing for a role who travels to Savannah to meet Gracie (Julianne Moore), a character loosely inspired by Mary Kay Letourneau.
During her stay, Berry develops ambivalent feelings towards Gracie and her 30-something husband Joe, with whom she started having an unlawful relationship when he was 13.
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