Movies in Review: "Jackie"

I love weekends like these, where there aren't any worldwide releases that I feel obligated to review. This was one of those weeks where I usually stay home, or indulge myself in an independent/limited release film, which was the case for Jackie. When I watched the trailer the story immediately grabbed me. We always hear about the assassination of Kennedy, but no one really spoke about the experience of the events for his wife sitting next to him. Besides it getting great reviews, I knew I wanted to see this anyway. Not to mention the theatrical poster is EVERYTHING. I love theatrical posters as much as I love movies, and the one for this film appealed to all of my senses, and is simply breathtaking, as the woman herself.

Natalie Portman is getting high praises for her performance as Jackie, and yes I think those praises are deserved...to an extent. She gave a great emotional performance, and seemed to really capture Jackie, but at times it seemed far too much. There were some parts of her performance that had me cringing. The way she was speaking at times annoyed the crap out of me, and also the stiff poses that she would make with her arms and faces had her looking like a mannequin. She definitely captured Mrs. Kennedy's shy demeanor, brains and beauty, but sometimes her performance was a little over the top. I enjoyed the film, but wished it had a better flow. The story would bounce back and forth from before the assassination to her husband's funeral arrangements, and killed the flow of the film. 

I enjoyed this side of the story being told, but I kind of wish it was told in a better way. I loved Portman's portrayal, but also found some of her performance to be cringe worthy. I was hoping to walk out the theater hoping to say I loved this one, but left the theater with a shrug and needing a nap...B-