Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Jackie

 

Jackie is a 2016 movie starring Natalie Portman, playing Jaqueline Kennedy, and is based on an interview that she gave to Theodore H. White for Life Magazine shortly after the assassination of JFK. The movie jumps around in time to show events that occurred during her time as the first lady to the tumultuous time after the assassination as she was trying to put her life back together. Then, there are the scenes in which she is being interviewed for the magazine piece by Billy Crudup's character (just called "The Journalist") in the movie, where she tries to hold it together and basically direct the content of the interview. The movie shows a glimpse of how manufactured the real-life interview was with Jackie dictating content that could be included (for example claiming she does not smoke despite her chain-smoking throughout the entire interview). The movie recreates some of the iconic images from around that time, and Portman does a great job in her portrayal of the former first lady. The movie also has a strong supporting cast including John Hurt and Peter Sarsgaard (who plays Bobby Kennedy). 

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is very good, and the film makes good use of real archival footage that gets blended into what was shot for the movie, almost seamlessly. There are a couple of extras, including a 22-minute making-of featurette, a stills gallery, and the movie trailer. There is apparently a director commentary available on the digital download version of the movie, but that is not included on the blu-ray disc. 

Overall, the movie is very good. It is well-written and very well-acted with Portman doing most of the heavy lifting. It is a very good drama and is definitely worth checking out.