Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children, and define her husband's historic legacy.
This movie is a portrait of one of the most important and tragic moments in American history, seen through the eyes of the iconic First Lady, then Jacqueline Kennedy (Natalie Portman). Jackie places us in her world during the days immediately following her husband's assassination. Known for her extraordinary dignity and poise, here we see a portrait of the First Lady as she fights to establish her husband's legacy and the world of "Camelot" that she created and loved so well.Written by
Fox Searchlight Pictures
The Kennedy Compound is in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. Scenes in this movie supposedly set at Hyannis Port were shot in Maryland, resulting in a house and grounds that look nothing like the real house, or Cape Cod. See more »
Goofs
When Jackie is looking around Arlington Cemetery the day after her husband's death, the flag in the background is at full staff. But on that day every flag in the country, especially one at Arlington, would have been at half staff. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
The Journalist:
Mrs. Kennedy? They told me to come up. And I'm so sorry for your loss.
Jackie Kennedy:
Have you read what they've been writing? Krock and Merriman and all the rest?
The Journalist:
Yes, I have.
Jackie Kennedy:
Merriman's such a bitter man. It's been just one week. Already they're treating him like some dusty old artifact to be shelved away. That's no way to be remembered.
The Journalist:
And how would you like him remembered, Mrs. Kennedy?
Jackie Kennedy:
[stammering]
I...
Jackie Kennedy:
You understand that I will be editing this conversation just in case I don't say exactly what I...
[...] See more »
I mostly fell for this exploration of grief, grace and mythmaking. Even when it was a bit too on the nose (the faults mostly lie in the wraparound story). It's concerned with how someone copes in the spotlight, how someone can make a legacy from the idea of a thing, how a person is more important than their legend but also how their legend shapes how that person is forever perceived.
It's telling in the universe of the film that Jackie herself is first obsessed with redesigning the White House in what is ostensibly a superficial act of decorating, but then is revealed to be, in reality, attempting to reflect more than the legends of past presidents but also the men who shaped them. A reminder that all legends start with a simple human being doing things only a person can do. A grandiloquent gesture of political humanity for a house full of ghosts.
There's a lot else to like here. Natalie Portman's performance does indeed capture Jackie Kennedy's persona, but also the legend of her and the real woman behind it all. Watching the real White House tour video on YouTube showed me how accurate Portman's breathy accent and meticulous demeanor really were. Beautifully composed, with notes of elegance and grotesqueness in equal measure. And a wonderful, tragic, near other-worldly score by Mica Levi.
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I mostly fell for this exploration of grief, grace and mythmaking. Even when it was a bit too on the nose (the faults mostly lie in the wraparound story). It's concerned with how someone copes in the spotlight, how someone can make a legacy from the idea of a thing, how a person is more important than their legend but also how their legend shapes how that person is forever perceived.
It's telling in the universe of the film that Jackie herself is first obsessed with redesigning the White House in what is ostensibly a superficial act of decorating, but then is revealed to be, in reality, attempting to reflect more than the legends of past presidents but also the men who shaped them. A reminder that all legends start with a simple human being doing things only a person can do. A grandiloquent gesture of political humanity for a house full of ghosts.
There's a lot else to like here. Natalie Portman's performance does indeed capture Jackie Kennedy's persona, but also the legend of her and the real woman behind it all. Watching the real White House tour video on YouTube showed me how accurate Portman's breathy accent and meticulous demeanor really were. Beautifully composed, with notes of elegance and grotesqueness in equal measure. And a wonderful, tragic, near other-worldly score by Mica Levi.