Jackie 2016

     The setting of this film is in the days when Jackie Kennedy was First Lady and after the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Texas.  The opening scenes are of a magazine reporter interviewing Jackie.  Flashbacks are used to show Jackie’s reaction to the assassination and the aftermath.  Understandably, she is worried about her children and how they will adjust to life without their father.  They will also be leaving Washington DC and the White House. 

     It seems as if Jackie is trying to control how she appears and her place in history in the interview?  After the interview, Jackie is talking about redecorating the White House.  I’m not sure if Natalie sounds exactly like Jackie but her voice seems unusual and everything seems strange about the filming?  Jackie gave two interviews after her husband's death, one to Life Magazine and the other to historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.  Arthur recorded eight hours with Jackie and after that, she would never publicly speak of this time period.  Jackie heavily redacted some of the interview transcripts and this caused gaps in the conversation.  To this day, it is interesting to wonder what Jackie wanted to keep hidden?   2 ½* (This movie is so-so)

100 min, Bio directed by Pablo Larrain with Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, John Hurt, Richard E. Grant, Caspar Phillipson, John Carroll Lynch, Beth Grant, Max Casella, Sara Verhagen.

Note:  Imdb 6.7 out of 10, 88% audience 60% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2 ½*, Amazon 3* out of 5* with 596 reviews, Metacritic 81 out of 100 with 52 critics 7.2 out of 10 with 205 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Seine-Saint-Denis, Hauts-de-Seine and Paris, France: Easton Newman Field Airport, Maryland, Royal Oak, Baltimore, Catonsville, Maryland; Washington DC.  Billy Crudup's character is listed as The Journalist in the credits.  He is meant to be Theodore H. White of LIFE Magazine.  He did conduct a real-life interview with Jacqueline Kennedy.  Crudup said that that he was impressed by how Portman possessed her character.  One third of the shots in this film were the first take.  It was a challenge to portray the highly distinctive dialect, impeccable diction and whisper voice of Mrs. Kennedy.  She also spoke with a mix of a real New York accent and also some British in her accent.  Originally it was announced that Darren Aronofsky was to be the director and Rachel Weisz was to play Jacqueline.  Both withdrew but for a time but Aronofsky returned.  It was a challenge for Costume Designer Madeline Fontaine to create the exact color of the dark red, two-piece boucle wool dress Jacqueline wore during her White House tour.  Most people have only seen the grayed-out image on the 1960's television black and white image.  Two different dresses were made to get just the right shade of gray.  One was red and the other one was pink.