“I will march with Jack! Alone if necessary” – Jackie

Number of Times Seen – 1 (24 Jan 2017)

Brief Synopsis – Chronicles a few days in the life of Jackie Kennedy as she looks back at the days following her husbands assassination a few weeks earlier.

My Take on it – I have been looking forward to this film all year because I’ve always been a big fan of Natalie Portman and of the JFK assassination.

I was so excited to finally see it and Portman once again gives us an amazing performance.

The problem here is the story itself; it just isn’t focused enough on a general story and deals solely on Jackie without giving us a compelling story around her.

The history of the JFK assassination and the days surrounding it are extremely rich with information and the choice to stay too focused on Jackie’s thoughts is where this film loses itself.

So much more could have been done to help the audience connect with the story and characters, but the opportunities seem lost along the way.

I understand the idea that she was living the life of a queen in Camelot and that in a split second that all was shattered, but we deserved a better story here for us to relate to.

Bottom Line – Portman is amazing here, but the story itself lacks real focus besides her performance.  The story is solely about her feelings and seems as if so much more could have been done with this to help the audience connect more.  I get the idea that she was living in Camelot and her world came down in a split second, but they could have done a much better job here because the material about that day and the events surrounding it that this was a letdown. 😦

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Screenwriter Noah Oppenheim has said: “Like so many women in history, [Jacqueline Kennedy] has never really gotten her proper due. She’s been portrayed mainly for her style and elegance, but she deserves more credit for her exceptional understanding of image, public relations, and really creating the idea of Camelot after JFK’s death. When I read about that single week in 1963, when she had to console two grief-stricken children, deal with moving out of what was really her only home, contemplate a whole different life moving forward, and at the same time had one last shot to solidify her husband’s legacy, it was extraordinary. I couldn’t imagine a more revealing moment to explore one of the most interesting women of the last century.” (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy

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