Jackie
2016, History/Drama, 1h 39m
362 Reviews 25,000+ RatingsWhat to know
critics consensus
Jackie offers an alluring peek into a beloved American public figure's private world -- and an enthralling starring performance from Natalie Portman in the bargain. Read critic reviews
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Cast & Crew
Jackie Kennedy
Bobby Kennedy
Nancy Tuckerman
The Journalist
The Priest
Bill Walton
News & Interviews for Jackie
Critic Reviews for Jackie
Audience Reviews for Jackie
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May 31, 2018Anchored by a beguiling starring performance, maudlin exercise Jackie offers a tantalizing glimpse into the private affairs of Camelot in its darkest hour that ultimately barely leaves the surface. In this R-rated drama based on real events, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy (Natalie Portman) fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children, and define her family's legacy following the assassination of her husband, President John F. Kennedy. Not only does Portman look and sound exactly like this pillbox hat-popping American (her public persona at least), but the rest of the period aesthetics prove spot-on as well. The minutes, hours, and days following JFK's assassination that played out in public get re-created to a hauntingly realistic - almost naturalistic - degree-a blood-covered Jackie cradling her husband's body, Lyndon Johnson getting sworn in as president aboard Air Force One, JFK, Jr. saluting his father's casket standing out in particular. If only the script had that same meticulous drive to uncover the truth. Screenwriter Noah Oppenheim barely gets the dust off of the marble veneer of this icon let alone puts a crack in it for all to see inside. It's something more than superficial but far less than satisfying. That Portman makes it all so watchable despite these shortcomings stands testament to her awe-strikingly chameleonic turn. Insomuch as director Pablo Larrain deserves plaudits for the exacting details brought to life as a result of the brilliant casting and production design, he likewise deserves demerits for the music. Mica Levi's overpowering orchestration not only literally sounds like a funeral dirge, it's so obtrusive that it drowns out the actual drama. At times, it's so loud and overused that it's almost laughable in an ironical way. Who needs the cast commentary of Mystery Science Theater 3000 when the film's own score sounds like the outro to a '50s soap opera? To Sum It Up: Camelot...I know it gives a person pause
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Sep 11, 2017Ugh. What a disappointing movie this was. The storytelling is awful. The script, which has Jackie and Bobby saying ridiculous and vain things shortly after the assassination, alternates between inauthenticity and cliché. The movie's scope is so narrow - it's titled 'Jackie' but we learn very little about her, since it focuses on her redecoration of the White House and the assassination and its aftermath. That's it! And even then, director Pablo Larrain somehow manages to botch it. He gets Jackie's spirit wrong, and manages to take one of the most dramatic events in American history and make it feel melodramatic. He doesn't give us anything about the larger context of her life, Kennedy's Presidency, or America at the time, and even in trying to tell us what he does, inexplicably leaves out the indelible image of JKF Jr. saluting his father at the funeral. As for the film's vaunted acting, I found Natalie Portman uninspired as Jackie, and Peter Sarsgaard insipid as Bobby. Neither comes close to pulling off what are admittedly difficult roles. The dialog between Jackie and the priest (John Hurt) is banal and cringe-inducing. The interview with reporter (Billy Crudup) is as well. I am loathe to write extreme reviews particularly when on this site you see maximum ratings for simply good or mediocre movies, or the reverse, decent films getting trashed. I am also into historical films such as this and frankly, normally adore Natalie Portman. And yet here I am, utterly annoyed and giving 'Jackie' an extremely low rating. This could (and should) have been a far, far better movie. How insulting to the Kennedys, and to history.
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May 07, 2017The pink Channel suit is the most interesting character in this cold, featureless depiction of the First Lady in the days after the Kennedy assassination. Skip it. (Unless you really are interested in the costumes -- they're great!)Christian C Super Reviewer
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Apr 23, 2017Decent with good acting. Very overrated though.Stephen S Super Reviewer
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