Portman poised under pressure in ‘Jackie’
A little over a week after the anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a moment that stunned and stopped the world, a new film aims to offer a behind the scenes look of what the first lady was enduring.
“Jackie” in theaters this weekend offers a look at Jacqueline Kennedy (Natalie Portman, “V for Vendetta” and “Black Swan”) as she struggled with her own personal grief and trauma, fought for her faith and helped her children find peace with the passing of their father, all the while trying to find a way to define her late husband’s historic legacy.
Joining Portman is Peter Sarsgaard (“Jarhead” and “Orphan”) as Robert Kennedy, John Carroll Lynch (“Shutter Island” and “American Horror Story: Freak Show”) as Lyndon Baines Johnson and Beth Grant (“No Country for Old Men” and “The Artist”) as Ladybird Johnson.
In an interview with Dave McNary, film reporter for Variety, Portman said that portraying the famous first lady was difficult for a variety of reasons.
“The more superficial details – the way she talked, the way she looked, the way she moved – are skills but portraying how she ‘felt’ takes imagination,” Portman shared with McNary.
“I love that she defined herself as a wife primarily but lived a life that was very counter to that, where she was her own woman. She became the author of her own story and his story.”
So far, “Jackie” has won the best screenplay at the Venice Film Festival and the Platform Prize at the Toronto Film Festival.
Early critic reviews have been favorable with a 97 percent fresh rating on RottenTomatoes.com and a 93 out of 100 on Metacritic.com.
“Eclipsing her work in ‘Black Swan,’ Portman flutters like a sail in a brisk wind. She is scattered, tense, wrecked and compellingly defiant in the face of those who would have her act a certain way,” wrote reviewer Joshua Rothkopf of Time Out.
The film is rated R for brief strong violence and some language.
Other films in theaters this weekend include:
n “Believe: The Movie” starring Ryan O’ Quinn, Shawnee Smith and Danielle Nicolet and directed by Billy Dickson in this holiday drama about a business owner in a small town who tries to save the community’s Christmas pageant despite insurmountable odds.
The film is rated PG for some violence, thematic elements and brief mild language.
n “Anonymous” starring Callan McAuliffe, Lorraine Nicholson and Daniel Eric Gold and directed by Akan Satayev in a thriller about a teen who is learning the inner workings of computer programing when he turns to online crime to help his family with their financial troubles.
The film is currently unrated.
n “Incarnate” starring Carice van Houten, Aaron Eckhart and David Mazouz and directed by Brad Peyton in this horror film about a scientist who can enter into the minds of those possessed and decides to help a young boy fight off a demon.
The film is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of horror violence, terror, disturbing images, language, sensuality and thematic elements.