Runtime: 1hr 40min
Director: Pablo Larraín
Release Date: 20th January 2017
Rating: 15 (UK), R (US)
Natalie Portman takes on the challenging role of beloved 60's First Lady Jackie Kennedy in the days leading up to the end of her Whitehouse stint. The script not particularly engaging, Jackie contained performances which were much to the contrary.
A movie based upon Jackie Kennedy's life has seemingly infinite source material; any type of biopic about the Kennedy's would have so much detail due to the amount of research that has gone into JFK's assassination and life - however this movie managed to skip all of that and focus entirely on the week after JFK's death alone - when so much more about Jackie Kennedy's life as a whole could have been covered.
As a result, Jackie is entirely based around planning President Kennedy's funeral - and not much else. The premise of the movie is the events of Kennedys' assassination and the events that followed being recounted by Jackie herself in a controlled press interview in the week following the execution that shook a nation.
Jackie (Natalie Portman), details her account of not only the day in question, but also the succeeding funeral plans, her removal from long-term home the Whitehouse, and the very public funeral itself - in which she received much criticism for her personal and political decisions, despite being the grieving widow left to shelter two children from a media frenzy.
Throughout, her closeness with brother-in-law Bobby Kennedy (Peter Sarsgaard) is prominent; to the point where it became a bit of a two-man show. Both Sarsgaard and Portman can be commended on their performances, as can the remainder of the cast (for what little screen-time they had) - Portman in particular gave a show captivating to watch, with her vocal imitation almost perfection - despite speculation on its' authenticity due to its' husky, Marilyn-Monroe-esque perception. John Carroll Lynch (as President Lyndon B Johnson) was noteworthy also. Alongside this, it has to be said that the costume, makeup and overall styling was excellent too.
However, with an almost-two-hour play-out of events that spanned just one week, it felt like Jackie was brimming with detail despite not actually having much real substance; the whole thing felt a bit uneventful for the chaos that it surrounded. Details that you would expect painted clearly for this movie (such as the arrest and public shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald) seemed entirely skimmed over - seemingly Jackie Kennedy's conversations with her interior designer (Richard E. Grant) and a priest (the late, great John Hurt) were deemed far more interesting by comparison.
Music and cinematography, whilst done quite well, were of no particular note, despite its' Oscar nomination for Best Original Score. Alongside this, Jackie's shortlistings' include well-deserved nominations for Costume Design and Best Actress in a Leading Role. Some beautifully detailed scenes became a tad lacklustre by the end, and a few in particular felt slightly mocking of true-to-life occurances.
Whilst the strength and intelligence of Jackie Kennedy were highlighted in this mediocre biopic, I can't help feeling it lacked depth where it churned out detail. A solid effort by Larraín, however not the masterpiece we all had hoped for.
