There’s something to be said about an outsider telling a true story about another culture. More often it’s a problem when a filmmaker swoops in to depict another culture’s history – it’s no news Hollywood has a major whitewashing problem and a need to diversify storytelling on and off screen. But if an international filmmaker takes on a piece of American history, especially history that’s particularly iconic or traumatic, that outsider quality can lend to something surprising and deeply moving. That’s what happened with Jackie, when Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain approached the story of the former First Lady from the outside in. It allowed the director to re-examine a famous piece of history, to strip away sentimentality and nostalgia and get at something a little deeper.
John F. Kennedy is probably the most well-documented president in history, with tons of documentaries and conspiracy theory History Channel specials and books and what have you dedicated to the life and legacy of one of this country’s most tragically beloved presidents. Jackie Kennedy Onassis is almost as well-known, the nation’s fascination with her prompting the First Lady to become a followable source of fashion and politics. Natalie Portman’s Jackie follows the First Lady in the first few days after JFK’s shocking assassination. In a new clip, she speaks to a journalist and has an unexpected response to her own grief.
It doesn’t hurt that Natalie Portman looks a lot like Jackie Kennedy. Dressed in pearls and a classic 1960s suit with a perfect bouffant hairstyle, she’s the splitting image of the former First Lady. But in Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín’s ‘Jackie,’ Portman’s performance goes beyond looks. As the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Portman flourishes in one of the best and most deeply human roles of her career.
Among the usual biopics and awards season fare, Jackie has emerged as an intriguing contender — an atypical biopic about one of America’s most famous tragedies, told from the perspective of our most iconic First Lady, and directed by a Chilean filmmaker (who has not one, but two biopics hitting theaters this December). Following its premiere at TIFF in September, Jackie immediately became one of our most anticipated films of this awards season, and this new trailer isn’t making us any less patient for its release.
In the first trailer for Pablo Larraín’s Jackie, Natalie Portman recites part of the First Lady’s 1963 interview with Life magazine. The interview, which took place the week following John F. Kennedy’s assassination, marked the origins of the presidential Camelot reference...
Glowing reviews of Jackie have been pouring in from TIFF, where Pablo Larrain debuted his biopic about the eponymous First Lady, starring Natalie Portman in a role that will undoubtedly secure the actress an Oscar nomination — if Jackie hits theaters in time. And it looks like it will, as Fox Searchlight has secured the distribution rights to the buzzy biopic, with plans to release Jackie this December, right in the middle of awards season.