JACKIE SHARES THE TRAUMA OF JFK’S DEATH
In 1963, an American president who had brought hope for a new beginning—a Camelot—was shot dead alongside his wife, Jackie (played by Natalie Portman). She had to endure the blood spatter and make painful decisions following his death. Directed by Pablo Larraín, the film Jackie demonstrates much more than most filmviewers will care to experience, including flashbacks while Jackie was being interviewed by a journalist, Theodore H. White (Billy Crudup), at Hyannisport. What becomes obvious is that she was married for her looks but had no policy interest other than collecting art for the White House. Her responses to her husband’s death varied depending upon her moods. No family really comforted her. She was treated kindly but mostly left alone to pack up her things and move out of Washington. There seems no point to the film except to portray how women feel when their husbands die, though in her case the world was wondering what she would do, what kind of funeral she would allow, as if that were the only important decision of her life. Sorrowful music fills the void. MH