JUST OKAY - (6 stars out of 10)

Rating: 6/10 (3 April 2019)

The stage curtains open ...
First, let me qualify my review title. The MOVIE as a whole was "Just Okay" - but I felt that Natalie Portman's portrayal of Jackie Kennedy was outstanding. The thing I did really like about this movie was that it stayed true to it's theme ... that of looking through Jackie's eyes, and not another conspiracy theory.
The film starts out with a journalist arriving to interview Jackie one week after JFK's assassination. The story is presented in flashbacks as she tells her story to the journalist - the hours leading up to her husband's death, the hours afterwards, the decisions she had to make concerning her children, the funeral and what direction she would have to take once leaving the White House (which she had spent so much time and effort in renovating). How important it was to her that his legacy as the President was left in tact and how that the "Camelot" they enjoyed for the short time they were there would never come to be again.
Natalie Portman has come a long way. She was cast perfectly here as the grieving First Lady, convincing in her look, style and mannerisms. And yet, as fine a performance as this was, the movie still fell a little flat with me. It does a good job in its history aspects, but wasn't really very entertaining. I know this sounds like a contradiction in terms - but as I was watching it, I wondered if I would ever watch it again and I decided that, No, I probably wouldn't. As good as it was, I still felt like it could've been better. Don't ask me how, because I don't really know what they could've done to make it any better.
I'm a little bit split here between the acting and the final product. I am giving it 6 stars with a recommend to watch it for the performance of Natalie Portman and a visit back to Jackie's time and the history of her part in this tragedy. I cannot, however, say that this is a memorable film, or re-watchable - even though it was well made.