Time is a gentleman and thanks to this film that does her justice, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy is restored to history as one of the most iconic and charismatic women of the twentieth century. Portrayed by a perfect Natalie Portman, throughout the film, we see her story as a strong and courageous woman almost at "inhuman" levels.
For those times, and for women, marrying the heir of one of the most powerful families in the United States would have been enough to live an extraordinary life, but existence and history have their uncontrollable and unpredictable plans. From the title "Jackie," it is clear the film's goal is to present the woman "naked" without the superstructure of her dazzling name and surname. I detest the phrase "behind every great man there's always a great woman," but in this case, it's the truth.
On November 22, 1963, the course and destiny are marked for America and the world but also for an ideal family. A family mirroring those times where balance seemed all there in a good marriage, children, and family care.
The film starts with the world's most influential woman putting on makeup on the presidential plane, reflected just a few hours later there's a face twisted by tears being washed by the blood of her husband.
There's something primal and animalistic in how this woman faces the first four days after her husband's death. It all starts with that feline leap, the promptness with which Jackie reaches out to grab a piece of her husband's skull, and she becomes the emblem of the feral woman. She uses her body as a shield and from there nothing is spared her: the rush to the hospital, the futile resuscitation, the oath, the decisions for the burial, and the demands of protocol.
There are individuals who succumb to life's events and then there are those who manage to turn the tables and their story with firmness and strength like skilled croupiers. As if it were a pre-written script, in those four days after her husband's death, she will be the one to handle the widowhood, the fracture of the American dream.
The narrative shifts on multiple levels and we see in various flashbacks that show the days spent in a revolutionized White House open to the world.
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