Great acting. Important subject. Too dark at times. RFK is all wrong.

Rating: Null/10 (6 January 2017)

Natalie Portman is very good in the lead role and will get lots of acting recognition. The JFK story is amazingly compelling and still has many nuances to his story even though it has been told many times. This is a very different portrait of the era focused on Jackie and Natalie Portman draws an amazing portrait. Peter Sarsgaard is a bit sloppy as RFK and does not attempt the accent nor the charm that RFK is known for. This film paints a brilliant picture, but if differs so much from other known accounts of RFK and the other family members that it seems jaded against telling the real story of the Kennedy's. The film centers around dialogue between Jackie and a reporter narrative that is often awkward, flawed and beyond belief. The film is largely devoid of "warm" characters and many of the relationships feel false and plastic beyond reason. Many things are implied here about LBJ, Lee Harvey Oswald and others that leaves you a bit confused about where the film wants you to focus. This could have been a great film, but I will say it was misguided in the way it told the story... too dark, too foreboding and too many dry characters.