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Avatar – Individual Acting Performance – Neytiri

One of the best performances in this movie is that of Natyri, who is excellently portrayed by Zoe Saldana. She truly comes off as a native woman. She is believable as a native female who knows her forest; she may not know about much else in the universe, but she knows the forest well. And, her teaching to Jake is alternately frustrating and patient. She does a great job at the initial meeting with Jake when divine intervention not only prevents her from killing Jake but causes her to bring him before the tribe. Their initial meeting is believable in the sense of her portrayal of a woman fighter, who has lost her sister to the humans, is stopped from killing Jake by “divine” intervention, and must somehow explain to Jake, without getting too close, that his blundering in the forest is ignorant and shows he doesn’t belong there. Of course, a 2nd “divine” intervention by Eywa causes her to bring Jake to the tribe.

In spite of the fact that Neytyri is supposed to become the spiritual leader of the tribe one day and that her mating with Jake will disqualify her from that position (we learn this in a deleted scene), she still chooses Jake. Her love is so great. You have to wonder if it’s his non-native, free-spirited personality that she loves, not just his courage and warrior spirit. Thus, we have one of the many ambiguities in the movie. Is native life really that great? Does Jake really bring something profitable from the “wicked” human culture from which he comes? How can that be if native culture is so wonderful? Etc.

Another very real portrayal is at the denouement of the movie. We’re still not sure if Jake is fully on board with the Pandorans in their fight to keep the humans from taking over their planet. Maybe Jake just wants to save their lives by getting them to move. Neytiri learns that Jake’s original mission was to cause them to move, and she portrays well a woman betrayed.

One of the most touching scenes of the movie is at the very end, when Jake is facing death because as a human he cannot breathe the Pandoran atmosphere. She is trying to revive his Pandoran body, but she then realizes that he’s not there; he’s in his human body. She rushes to find him in the trailer where the transport system is located, and she finds him and holds him. He seems like a little child in his human form, for the Pandorans are quite large. For the first time, she sees him in his pitiable, paralyzed, small human form. He’s like a child in her arms. In an instant, he has gone from a formidable warrior, fighting to protect her, to a helpless dying form in her arms. Yet, her love is so great that she smiles at him and gives him the traditional Pandoran greeting – “I see you.” Thus the spouse of the man sees him in both his strong, warrior self and in his true child-like, weak state of his real self. She provides the breathing apparatus that saves his human life. Thus, she saves him twice – in warfare and in his heart.