How Natalie Portman Got Caught in Novelist Rachel Cusk’s Autofiction Trap

The acclaimed writer Rachel Cusk’s controversial new novel Life of M is an intimate, unvarnished character study of an A-list movie star who is depicted as hollow, immature and cynical, an intellectual poseur and an artist wannabe. The apparent inspiration: Natalie Portman , who selected Cusk’s works for her online book club and hosted her for a 2022 discussion, calling the author “one of my favorite writers.” Among the evidence is the fictional subject’s filmography, whose details directly map to the actress’ signature roles in Leon: The Professional , Black Swan and Vox Lux . Related Stories Movies Liev Schreiber and 'Ukrainians in Exile' Director Janek Ambros Set for Lakes Noir Film Festival Tribute Movies Edinburgh Film Festival Awards Go to 'Skintown' and 'Grief Room'

In the novel, publishing Aug. 25, an unnamed writer in an unnamed city that appears to be Paris undertakes an experimental autobiographical project — essayistic, possibly fabulist — about a friend, the titular M. In part, it’s an extended riff on the celebrity profile, with scenes set at discreet restaurants and in luxury hotels.

“To always be playing a part is to have no home, she thinks, nor any history,” Cusk writes of M. The star’s literal home is compared to “a big doll’s house, with her as the doll inside it.” Cusk writes of M that “she is skilled at giving the appearance of paying attention,” and “her cultivation of normality is an attempt to retrieve a lost inner world.”