Jackie tells the story of former First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, as she struggles to cope with the assassination of her husband, John F. Kennedy. While many people are concerned with the magic bullet theory, Jackie is concerned with the life of the woman behind the 35th President of the United States after she endures having to watch her husband die in that now infamous car ride in Dallas. There is no room for macho-ism here.
Pablo Larrain directed this fascinating look at the hours, days and weeks in the life of Jackie Kennedy (Natalie Portman) after the assassination of her husband. We see her try to cope with his murder as well as trying to stay strong for the nation as well as comforting her children.
If you're expecting a straight-forward bio-pic then you'll probably be disappointed with this because director Larrain doesn't deliver anything like that. Instead of a straight drama we're given a rather bleak and depressing character study that tries to show how strong Jackie Kennedy was but at the same time show the horrors that she was battling. Not only do we see her wiping her husband's blood off of her face but also her having to plan for a funeral, deal with the political business as well as try to explain to their children why daddy won't be coming home again.
Natalie Portman is very good in the lead role and will get lots of acting recognition. The JFK story is amazingly compelling and still has many nuances to his story even though it has been told many times. First and foremost, Jackie is a testament to Natalie Portman's power as an actress. Sometimes she decides to just mail it in to get the paycheck (Thor), but when she wants to bring, she sure as hell can bring it! She plays such a multifaceted and dynamic character, bringing many different layers and complexities to the First Lady. This story really does focus solely on Jackie.
Jackie once again establishes her as one of the best actresses working today. The way she commits to Jackie Kennedy's voice and mannerisms is unprecedented. That wasn't Natalie Portman acting, that was Jackie Kennedy. This film focuses solely on her husband's assassination and the events directly following, but it's absolutely Jackie's story. The whole movie rests on Portman's shoulders, and she delivers.
Although the pacing was a bit slow for my liking. I did appreciate some of the longer camera shots especially what transpired immediately after and how she tried to stay together. The sets and costumes were also gorgeous to say the least as everything just fit the time period.
7.4/10- IMDb
89%- Rotten Tomatoes
81% -Metacritics
7/10
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