Review of Jackie (2016) by Leon B — 06 Oct 2017

Review:

Although Natalie Portman put in an outstanding performance, I did find this movie quite boring, and I didn't understand what point the director was trying to get across. I know that Jackie Kennedy (Natalie Portman) had to deal with quite a lot after her husband, John F. Kennedy, was sadly assassinated, and that her emotions were all over the place but this film made it look like she was making irrational decisions, without the guidance and help from others. The whole interview part of the movie, was also slightly annoying because half of what she was saying, wasn't allowed to be published, so I didn't see the point of it. With that aside, the director captured the period very well, and the costumes and cinematography was quite impressive but from an entertainment point of view, it could have been much better. It did show how much Jackie loved her husband, and how the funeral was so important to the American public and his loved ones but I personal think that the movie could have covered different elements which would have been more interesting. I have to commend Portman for taking on such an iconic role, which would have been a disaster if she got it wrong, and she brought deep emotion and intensity to her performance, which made it watchable. I did find her voice slightly annoying and the jumpy scenes, which go back and forth in time, were a bad choice by the director but you do get to see how it was for the first lady, before and after she lost her husband. Average!

Round-Up:

This movie was directed by Pablo Larrain, 41, who has made most of his movies for a Chilean market, which is were be was born. He directed Neruda, The Club, No, Post Mortem, Tony Manero and Fuga, which have all gone under the radar, in terms of box office hits. I personally think that he should have called this movie "How To Plan A Funeral For A President", because you don't get an in depth look into Jackie Kennedy, who had many different aspects to her life. It was good to see John Hurt, in one of his final roles before his passing, and Peter Sarsgaard (Bobby Kennedy) put in a decent performance but there was way too many elements missing from the film. It doesn't touch the Oliver Stone classic, JFK, which gave a deep insight into the assassination, so I think they need to go back to the drawing board for this one.

Budget: $9million.

Worldwide Gross: $25million.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their biography/history/dramas, starring Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, John Hurt, Richard E. Grant, John Carroll Lynch and Corey Johnson. 4/10.