Review of Jackie (2016) by Kaptenvideo — 21 Mar 2017

JFK has been assassinated and the First Lady (Natalie Portman) is left to pick up the pieces. We get to see what she must have been gone through. I know nothing about the authenticity of this work but the movie looks good and it's always interesting to see the human side of the great historical figures. On this count, „Jackie“ delivers. All the doubts, fear, frailty and pettiness you can watch, and then some.

Portman gives a sharp nuanced performance and has a strong physical screen presence, especially for a widow broken down in grief and fear for the future.

There are a lot of good actors involved, including Billy Crudup, Peter Sarsgaard as RFK, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, John Hurt, Richard E. Grant and John Carroll Lynch as Lyndon Johnson. But don't expect a strong ensemble movie, it's all about Jackie. Everybody else falls to the sidelines, ready to serve or interact when the main character when screenplay says so. But the acting’s impressive enough all around. So, everything good so far. But somehow.. the whole result is not. Sorry to put it bluntly but it felt boring as **** All Oscar-hunt and no soul. This is the most boring "good movie" I have watched since... well, two weeks or so, when I saw Martin Scorsese's "Silence".

The 99 minute movie feels much longer, mostly because of its pompous style and no readiness to delve deep into any of the characters, or the experience of being human in general, which the story is actually about. The only time I really felt the experience truly coming alive for a moment was near the end, thanks to the great late John Hurt as priest councelling the First Lady.

„Jackie“ was nominated for 120 movie awards and won 53, mostly for Portman’s acting work but some for music or costumes. There were one Golden Globe (Portman) and three Oscar (Portman, costumes, music) nominations but zero wins. Portman gives a sharp and nuanced performance, worthy of all her awards, although I would have given Oscar to Isabelle Huppert in „Elle“, for even more exciting role. But the real winner was Emma Stone in „La La Land“ of course. You know, just saying.

"Jackie" is the kind of project which makes you doubt yourself as a movie lover. You see all the quality work on screen and wonder why actually you're not liking it more. It must be you, right, not being able to cherish all the good movies, right? Well, no. All the competent acting or dark and ominous atmosphere inspired by Malick, Aronofsky or Shyamalan can't compensate for a movie having no soul.

So, where's the soul? Who knows. You can't always stay on the path with the heart just because you would like to. It goes to screenwriters and moviemakers too.