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Jackie



Starring: Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, and John Hurt
Directed by: Pablo Larraín
Screenplay by: Noah Oppenheim

     Told through flashback, this is the story of Jackie Kennedy (Natalie Portman) in the days after the assassination of her husband, the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy.  This is the story of the First Lady navigating this horrible tragedy through grief, helping her children through it, regaining her faith, and defining her husband's legacy as President.
     I went into this movie thinking it would be a biopic of Jackie Kennedy's life, encompassing as much of her life as possible, the way many biopics do.  But this film is interesting.  It only tells the story of about one week in her life, a very important week in her life.  We only see this part of her life.  She is interviewed by a journalist (Billy Crudup) and everything else we see is through flashback.  It is entirely from her point of view.
     This isn't a film in which a viewer can learn all that much history.  The film has in mind the viewer's knowledge of history and the events that occurred.  There is not much that is shown of the transition of power from Kennedy to Johnson (although they do show the swearing in on Air Force One).  The story is not told from a historical standpoint, but a personal one, making it all the more interesting, and shedding more light on the events of November 22, 1963 and the days after.
      Natalie Portman delivers a truly remarkable performance.  This is certainly one of her finest performances, up there with Black Swan, for which she won the Academy Award.  She is emotional, but elegant as Jackie Kennedy.
      Cinematically, the film looks like a 1960s style film.  It is not shot in the highest of quality, and in some scenes clearly looks like it was shot on 35mm film instead of shot digitally.  It is an immersive experience for the viewer in this way.
     Jackie is a film where style and substance blend perfectly to create a film that is compelling and beautiful.  It will certainly gain some recognition this coming awards season.
     I give Jackie an A-.

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