Who is the real Jackie Kennedy? This is the question reporter Theodore H. White (Billy Crudup) and the film presumably want to answer. As the reporter finds out, and the film argues, the answer is...complicated.
Like many of the best biopics, Jackie focuses on a representative chapter of its subject's life rather than skimming through the entire story. This movie depics White's interview with Jackie Kennedy (Natalie Portman) in the time following the assassination of JFK. But as we soon learn, this interview, like every aspect of Jackie's life, will be carefully filtered, trimmed, and polished. Jackie puffing a cigarette while declaring that she doesn't smoke, combined with Portman and Crudup's acting, firmly establish the Jackie as White's one and only editor.
The film's main insight into Jackie is how highly she valued appearances. It shows this in broad strokes - like her insistence that JFK be buried like Lincoln so that he's remembered like Lincoln - and narrow strokes - whether she's preparing for a speech in Dallas or recovering from John getting shot, she does so in front of a mirror. Everything is so carefully crafted - her diction, her presentation of the White House decor, her smile for the camera, her attire. One of the most powerful scenes involves her taking off her blood-stained pink dress and completely breaking down in tears. It's one of the few chances to take of her carefully tailored public persona and let the grief show its face.
One aspect of the film that I absolutely love is the use of visual storytelling to develop the relationship between White and Jackie. Initially White is in zealous pursuit of the truth; by the end he's exhausted and just wants a story that will satisfy all parties involved. The film tells this in the dialogue, but it also shows this through framing. Initially during the shot/countershot sequences involve matching close shots; furthermore they're put close together when they're in the same frame, with no barriers in between them. At the end of the movie they're sitting across each other at a long table - all of which is shot expertly to show the schism rather than connection that's been developed over the course of the interview. Moreover, close, eye-level shots of White are paired with far shots of Jackie over White's shoulder. These disparate distances firmly establish White as the audience surrogate - we're just as far from her as he is. Only Natalie Portman gets to be close to Jackie.
Being the surrogate for the ghost of Jackie O is no enviable task - luckily Portman is more than ready to serve as the gatekeeper to her legacy. Her performance is just so perfectly strained. In every shot Portman's smile tells one story while her eyes tell another one about the pain and anguish locked inside. She perfectly captures the ambition, fear, and insecurity underlying the character Jackie crafted for the world. Is she still a Kennedy without Jack? Will Jack be remembered like Lincoln? Will she be forgotten like Mary Todd? Portman essentially gives two performances for the price of one: the glistening icon that the public saw, and the complex human underneath the shiny veneer. Portman is probably headed for the Oscar for Best Actress; should she win it, she'll have earned it.
I think Jackie often teeters on the edge of melodrama. Also, this isn't a criticism per se, but personally I would've liked to see a biopic that wasn't so heavily focused on how much John defined her; she was Jackie Kennedy, but she was also Jackie Onassis, a woman whose legacy stands on its own (possibly even higher than John's). That said, Jackie is a wonderful movie that manages to find a unique perspective on one of the most heavily covered events in American history; it also doubles as a fascinating exploration of the nature of fame and celebrity.
Grade: 8/10
