100 Miserable Minutes

Rating: 4/10 (31 December 2016)

I had heard a lot of positive reviews for this film and have always been interested in the Kennedy assassination, had a respect for Jackie Kennedy, and had been a big fan of a majority of the cast including Portman, John Hurt, Peter Sarsgaard, and Billy Crudup. I went into this film with high hopes and left wondering why it was made in the first place.
I hate to question why films are made and I think it's cliché but this is a great example of a film that lacks purpose. I think that a film should have at least some aspect of entertainment value. Whether it's a film that makes you think for days afterwards or it simply provides campy thrills, there should be something that makes you feel differently.
The acting in Jackie is fantastic, as I expected, but it lacks cohesiveness and an overall story. The music is jarring, Jackie Kennedy is not a likable character (surprisingly), and the storyline is not cohesive. I understand that the storyline represents the 'blur' that the days following JFK's assassination were, but it doesn't make the film more enjoyable.
Natalie Portman is very good with the exception of her bizarre and unfortunate accent. This is compounded by the fact that she is the main character and speaks throughout the film. Her portrayal makes Jackie Kennedy come off as mean, mercurial, and elitist. I believe that is more the fault of writing than Portman.
Each scene seemed more depressing than the next and the jarring and overly loud soundtrack did not help. I found myself questioning the purpose of many scenes which seemed to contain no dialogue or plot progression. At the end, I found myself wishing that 'Jackie' would have at least ended up to be a heavy-handed 'women's empowerment' film which would have at least given me something to ponder during the walk to my car in the parking lot.