Natalie Portman essays the role of Jacqueline Kennedy, the widow of the assassinated US President John F Kennedy. Fresh from the event that almost destroyed her life, Jackie is still a picture of grit, poise and steely determination to the world outside whilst she is broken and helpless in her mind. A week after the assassination, on November 29, 1963, Jackie was interviewed in Hyannis Port by Theodore H. White of Life magazine. In that session, she compared the Kennedy years in the White House to King Arthur's mythical Camelot, commenting that the President often played the title song of Lerner and Loewe's musical recording before retiring to bed. "Don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief, shining moment that was known as Camelot. There'll be great presidents again ... but there will never be another Camelot", she said in that session.
Jackie is Natalie Portman's single character show, where she stands tall, confident and a replica for the former first lady, with all the bells and whistles, including the remarkable accent. The heart goes out to her as she refuses to take off her blood smeared suit, explaining to Lady Bird Johnson (wife of Lyndon Johnson who succeeded Kennedy as the president) that she wanted them (the people) to see what they did to Jack. There are poignant sequences a many where Jackie recounts her life in the White House and how she resurrected the lost glory of the previous office holders by bringing back the artefacts, or how she grapples to hold on to the assassinated president's body, barely recovering from her shock and grief.
The film is narrated through that historic interview and therefore resorts to fleeting between flashbacks at different stages depicting old events and those around the assassination, and thus appears like a documentary rather than a drama. Here lies the inherent weakness in the execution as I believe that telling the story chronologically could have made it more effective and hard hitting. But do watch Jackie for Portman, American history and to admire the former first lady for her poise, determination and public image despite being faced by a near mental breakdown.
Jackie is Natalie Portman's single character show, where she stands tall, confident and a replica for the former first lady, with all the bells and whistles, including the remarkable accent. The heart goes out to her as she refuses to take off her blood smeared suit, explaining to Lady Bird Johnson (wife of Lyndon Johnson who succeeded Kennedy as the president) that she wanted them (the people) to see what they did to Jack. There are poignant sequences a many where Jackie recounts her life in the White House and how she resurrected the lost glory of the previous office holders by bringing back the artefacts, or how she grapples to hold on to the assassinated president's body, barely recovering from her shock and grief.
The film is narrated through that historic interview and therefore resorts to fleeting between flashbacks at different stages depicting old events and those around the assassination, and thus appears like a documentary rather than a drama. Here lies the inherent weakness in the execution as I believe that telling the story chronologically could have made it more effective and hard hitting. But do watch Jackie for Portman, American history and to admire the former first lady for her poise, determination and public image despite being faced by a near mental breakdown.