The fact that Em wanted to say stuff about how Natalie Portman deserved her GG but didn't and now I have the floor, is just so satisfying. I get to ramble on about this crap. And someone's bound to listen.
Yes, I do think she deserved the GG. Natalie is utterly brilliant in her role as "Alice" the stripper. Every frame with her in it is different, bringing out either a new emotion or a separate nuance of the character's involvement with each other. Her role is pivotal and she plays it extremely well. If we had to put representations on all the characters: Natalie would represent the muse, the birth of all emotion and desire. Clive would represent that common man and his need to feel more than common. Jude would represent the sensitive bleeding heart that you can't help but fall in love with. Julia would represent sadness, depression and the back and forth tug of life.
Interestingly enough, all the characters react off each other in very sexual ways, also creating a natural give and take with their raw emotions. It was a bit weird to hear them bearing themselves to each other when they were strangers. The fact that they all remain strangers even through their long, intense and revealing relationships is the crux of this movie as well. The first words of the movie are Natalie's: Hello, stranger. And that really sets the tone. They all get pushed together and end up loving each other. Which if you really thought about it, is how reality is. How well do we know anyone? We barely know ourselves sometimes, so our barometers of intimacy are completely out-of-touch with our significant others more than half the time. And this movie brings that to light.
Loved it, loved it, loooooved it.
Now go out and see it. And if you see it and don't get it, then you're dead inside.
Just kidding.