Jackie (2016), R, ★★★

Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy.

We have had movies and TV shows examining John F. Kennedy's life, events surrounding his presidency and the case behind his assassination. However, we have never had a movie examining John F. Kennedy's wife after the impact of JFK's assassination and I thought that it would be a great idea to explore what is going behind her thoughts, emotions and ideals as to what to do with this tragic event regarding the press and also the nation. The nation is also mourning for the president, however, not everybody in the country knew JFK as personally as Jackie because she is his wife. Even though the movie's interview interludes bothered me as it is focused on the interview on one hand, it is the flashbacks that become more interesting but it is Natalie Portman's strong performance that saves the movie.

In 1963, in Massachusetts, a journalist (Billy Crudup) arrives at Jackie Kennedy's (Natalie Portman) temporary household and still mourning the loss of her husband after a week. She says to the journalist that the media is writing horrible things about her. The journalist tells her that he was impressed by how she handled things on her own and also the White House tour that Jackie did for CBS a few years earlier. He even compliments that she should have been a broadcaster. Jackie does not answer about her faith but she describes in graphic detail what it was like to witness the assassination while she was sitting next to him in an open-roof car in Dallas.

We do get flashbacks of some certain events in which Jackie's secretary, Nancy (Greta Gerwig), reviewing some last minute notes with Jackie as she will do the tour. She acquires historical items that is no more than 60 years old for the White House with her own money and also she hires a conductor as she and her husband has an affinity for music. We also witness JFK and Jackie greet Lyndon B. Johnson (John Carroll Lynch) and Lady Bird (Beth Grant) as they continue onto the limo. We also witness Jackie crying as she is wiping blood off her face in Air Force One and the government taking fast measures to appoint Johnson as the next President and Jackie is horrified that everything is going on so fast.

The government handles everything regarding JFK's funeral as Jackie is still mourning but also wants to take control of the funeral as, for example, she does not want the casket open, even though he was the Head of State, because she witnessed her husband's head being blown into pieces. They hire the Irish Cadets for the funeral since he loved them and Bobby Kennedy (Peter Sarsgaard) helps console her and also grieves his brother. The East Room of the White House has become a mass of crowded people and Jackie is dealing with the fact that she has to return to the life as a civilian and she won't have enough money to support her children.

I liked some elements of the movie very much but there were a few elements that bothered me heavily. The one element that bothered me was the structure of the film. I felt that it should have been better if we would not have had the interludes between the events surrounding JFK's assassination and Jackie mourning and the interview with the journalist and Jackie. I felt that that Pablo Larrain, the director, was being too desperate to try to persuade us to sympathize with Jackie whereas we already feel bad, before the movie starts, that Jackie witness her husband's death. It would have been better if it were to end on the interview and tell the movie from the beginning of the event straight and let us proceed with the movie and go along with the motions. Also, there's not much craft in its camerawork as most of the shots feel more centered than some others and that kind of took me out of the movie.

Natalie Portman gives one of her best performances of her career and it is up there with her performance from Black Swan because even though it is sort of an impersonation, she channels the dignified, classy look along with her embodying the vulnerability and strength that she has to go through. There are not a lot of actresses that can dial Jackie perfectly, from the attire to the accent. But, Portman is close. I thought Peter Sarsgaard was miscast as Bobby Kennedy because does not look anything like Bobby. John Carroll Lynch and Beth Grant are solid as the Johnsons. And, Greta Gerwig is solid in a supporting role.

I am recommending the movie on basis of Natalie Portman's performance and how she emotes sadness and strength simultaneously by having to deal with her personal struggles and with the media. There are some different angles as to how Larrain deals with scenes regarding the assassination and it is not reprehensible as we look from her point of view. But, Larrain's narrative structure prevented the movie becoming a great biopic because tonally, it is sad from the cinematography and a great score. Even though I was transfixed by some scenes of the event, I was crestfallen by Larrain's abnormal craftsmanship. I'll say this: I thought it had a great final shot of the movie.

***