Jackie
DVD
Review
by Kam Williams
Natalie
Portman Channels Jackie Kennedy in Oscar-Nominated Performance
How did
Jackie Kennedy feel in the wake of her husband's assassination in
Dallas on November 22, 1963? That is the question explored in Jackie,
a picture which paints a perceptive portrait of Camelot's First Lady
by speculating about her mental state during the days immediately
following the assassination of JFK (Caspar Phillipson). In that
regard, this behind-the-scenes biopic is rather reminiscent of The
Queen (2006) which presumed to provide a fly-on-the-wall's
perspective of the goings-on inside Buckingham Palace after the
untimely death of Princess Diana.
Directed by Pablo Larrain (Neruda), Jackie stars Academy Award-winner
Natalie Portman (for Black Swan) in the title role. Portman is likely
to garner another Oscar nomination for her very convincing
impersonation of the readily-recognizable legend. For, she manages to
replicate certain expected staples of the Jackie Kennedy iconography,
such as the whispery voice and the pillbox hat, while simultaneously
plumbing the depths of her complicated soul.
Consequently,
we get a sense of the familiar public figure's internal angst in a
variety of situations, such as when she had to break the news of
their father's death to Caroline (Sunnie Pelant) and John-John (Aiden
and Brody Weinberg). Or when she was being given the bum's rush out
of the White House by incoming Lady Bird Johnson (Beth Grant), who
was already thinking about replacing the drapes before JFK had been
buried.
Fortunately,
Jackie did have a shoulder to cry on in her hour of need. No, it was
not brother-in-law Bobby (Peter Sarsgaard) who
thought of her as a "silly, little debutante," but the
Catholic priest (John Hurt) who served as her confidant and
confessor. He helped Jackie summon up the strength and courage to
accompany her husband's casket, by foot, in the funeral procession
down Pennsylvania Avenue, despite fears of a copycat assassin.
Her faith
faltering, Jackie freely admitted that, "I think God is cruel."
She even wondered aloud whether she might have been better off
marrying "an ordinary, lazy, ugly man." And while Jackie
desperately grasps at straws to make sense of her unspeakable
nightmare, the most comforting words her supportive cleric can find
are "There are no answers in man's search for meaning."
A
bittersweet docudrama effectively echoing the lyrics from the classic
show tune Jackie identified as JFK's favorite, a week after his
passing: "Don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot,
for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot."
Excellent (4
stars)
Rated R for
profanity and brief graphic violence
Running time: 100 minutes
Distributor: Distributor: 20th
Century Fox Home Entertainment
Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Extras:
From Jackie to Camelot; Audio
Commentary by Natalie Portman and director Pablo Larrain; and a
stills gallery.
To see a
trailer for Jackie, visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9pW3B8Ycc4
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