"The First Lady" directed by Pablo Laraine opens with Mica Levi's smooth soundtrack, setting off a sense of tragedy that is difficult to understand, and also brings out the story of the film: this film is from Jacqueline Kennedy (Natalie Portman)’s perspective presents the four days before and after the assassination of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, in Dallas.
The film attempts to present this historical event from political, public, personal and other levels, while Natalie Portman, who plays Jacqueline Kennedy, shows how the protagonist faces friends, family, demonstrators, and the media. The qualities of nobility, elegance, and courage shown.
"The First Lady" examines an important scene in the process of the "mythification" of the American self in a personal and powerful way. The assassination of Kennedy not only changed everyone's view of American tragedy, it also made a difference for individuals. A woman who was once regarded as a "vase" by the outside world has gained her due rights and respect.
The film takes Jacqueline Kennedy’s interview with Life magazine reporter Theodore H. White (Billy Crudup) as a clue, and the White House parade television program that President Kennedy’s family participated in in 1962. It uses a non-linear narrative to show Kennedy. The effects of the President's assassination. Jacqueline Kennedy tried to ignore the government’s move to quickly arrange for Vice President Lyndon John (John Carlo Lynch) to take the post after Kennedy’s death. She silently tried to maintain her shrinking world, and she also witnessed it. The staff of the president's team, personal assistants, and pastors helped her through this difficult process together.
When preparing for Kennedy's funeral, Jacqueline wanted to give him a grand funeral, and government officials did not expect her idea and thought it would be a bit too grand. Faced with the opposite view, Jacqueline worked hard to calm her emotions. She needed to face the reality of her husband being murdered. She needed to appease the impact of the incident on the two children. Of course, the life she and Kennedy had built together had to stop there. The fact of change. After Kennedy was buried, Johnson and his wife moved into the White House, and Jacqueline finally returned to her life. Jacqueline must let herself not be affected by the outside world's view of this country's tragedy, continue her life, and manage everything that her husband left behind.
Director Lalein mixed together many fragments of events to make the structure of the film part of the film's narrative function-this way not only shows the historical events themselves, but also shows how historical events are constructed for greater goals . Jacqueline Kennedy has become a historical figure after her husband was murdered. But this movie assumes that-just like real reality-she is also one of the main characters who made her immortal. This idea makes her no longer a footnote in history.
In the film, Jacqueline put Kennedy's name and "Camilo" (a Broadway drama, Kennedy's reign is also known as the Camilo era) in an interview with "Life". The interview and Kennedy's grand funeral ensured that historians and the public can remember his greatness.
Of course, "The First Lady" also shows the protagonist Jacqueline's own path in life. In the film, she has many face-to-face conversations with important people who were affected by Kennedy's assassination, including Kennedy's younger brother Robert Kennedy ( Peter Susgard), reporter William Wharton (Richard Grant), head of media (Max Casera), and the head of White House public relations, her good friend Nancy (Grey Ta Geweig), the pastor who presided over the funeral of President Kennedy (John Hurt) and others.
Each dialogue brings new challenges and definitions to the relationship between Jacqueline and her late husband. As the first lady, she must make sure that her dress is exquisite and beautiful, impeccable. But her work does not have the authority of her husband's political strategy, or her work is not remembered. After Kennedy's death, her job and her own identity suddenly lost meaning. The director edited Jacqueline's moments of grief and her spirited state together, allowing viewers to experience the huge loss she faced and her amazing courage and determination.
Portman's interpretation of Jacqueline may not be surprising. She not only made the audience empathize with the loss of the role, but also understood her wisdom in the face of such encounters. Jacqueline’s vigorous and fearless sincerity in the White House parade and interviews with Life reporters, Portman also gives us the possibility to learn more about a woman who has always been regarded as a fashion icon . Although the characters around her are challenging or supporting the role, Portman is not only the star of the film, but also controls the narrative of the film, just like Jacqueline did for her husband.
"The First Lady" is an examination of our efforts to change the way the world views us. In this era when news reports try to or have to use simple narratives to tell people fewer facts and make history easier to understand or more entertaining, the existence of the film "The First Lady" is particularly important. In Kennedy's era, television as a form of television entertainment was still in its infancy. Its task at the time was to attract viewers not to leave the television while at the same time affecting their understanding of the world around them. "The First Lady" tells how a woman uses the power of this medium and her own energy that she doesn't even know, to let the American public know what she wants them to know about Kennedy. At the same time, her own traits also surfaced.
Original link: http://news.mtime.com/2016/11/13/1563004.html
View more about Jackie reviews
