Jackie (15A) - Movie Review

It was fantastic to see the great John Hurt performing in this movie in a role which although wasn’t major was very pivotal to the story of widow Jackie Kennedy in the aftermath of her husband’s assassination.
Sadly John Hurt died last weekend of a long illness, at the same time his movie, ‘Jackie’ is on international release.  It’s now all the more poignant watching Hurt as the priest leading Jackie to a time of acceptance in her new life, writes David Flynn.
‘Jackie’ portrays the eight days behind the scenes of the life of the young widow, following the assassination of her husband, President John F. Kennedy.  It was a time when she had to make serious decisions about the US President’s funeral, and also she had to look to her future with her children.
The movie shows an amazing recreation of the 1960s White House, including the officialdom and the personnel, through the eyes of Jackie.   The pain of the young widow and how she managed to triumph over the terrible adversity of having been beside her husband when he was shot is very vividly shown, thanks to the talented actress, Natalie Portman.
A CBS tv broadcast of Jackie in happier days opening the White House to the cameras is cleverly mingled in with this new movie..
The production of ‘Jackie’ is amazing from the outdoor scenes, shown with great cinematography, to private scenes in Jackie’s bedroom,
The acting of Nathalie Portman is deserving of the Oscar, although she has huge competition from Emma Stone of ‘La La Land’.
The torn brother in law, Bobby Kennedy is played with raw emotion by Peter Sarsgaard.  However it’s a pity more of the Kennedys or Jackie’s family, the Bouviers weren’t shown supporting her or the children.  The concentration of Jackie’s grief in the movie was built around Bobby, and the White House officials.
Production and set design deserve great accolades, from the creation of the 1963 Oval office, to Jackie’s rooms at the White House.
Billy Crudup shows great facial emotion as the journalist that interviews Jackie for Life magazine, some months after the funeral
For those of us who had heard of King Arthur’s ‘Camelot’ in connection with JFK and Jackie, this movie reveals it was Jackie who came up with the well-known term about the thousand days of JFK
The movie successfully interspersed real old footage with new footage of the JFK trip to Dallas, and the eventual funeral in Arlington Cemetery.
Also while there have been many film versions of the Jackie Kennedy story, this movie shows  the most graphic interpretation of the assassination, with blood and all.
The private time of the Kennedy widow is open to all, through ‘Jackie’ and the audience will feel they are intruding on this most private time.

 

La La Land (12A) – Movie Review

An old fashioned Hollywood musical in a modern setting with two of the biggest stars of the minute could sound like a narcissistic disaster.  It’s anything but.  It’s one of the coolest movies of the year (and its only January), and is a fascinating visual display, not to mention it has an unforgettable score, and of course the storyline’s not bad either.
Emma Stone could get the Best Actress Oscar for this movie in a couple of months’ time, writes David Flynn.  Her face displayed and told so much more than her well written dialogue could have.  She could dance and she could sing, and she was brilliant in it all.  She played Mia, an actress working in a coffee shop between gigs. 
Ryan Gosling plays Sebastian, a talented jazz musician who is reduced to playing covers in a wine bar, and then later plays in pool parties in Beverly Hills.  Ryan is not a great singer, but he got good songs to sing, and he somehow had a charm with those songs.
The talented duo meet and encourage each others careers, and their separate ambition meets successes and disappointments.  The careers cause frictions similar to the characters in the different ‘Star is Born’ movies.  The chemistry was magic between both leads.
‘La La Land’ gives a huge glimpse into Hollywood life, and the world of movie auditions and the empty side of that world.   There is also a nod here to Gene Kelly movies of the early 1950s.
There is a lot of colour in the storyline and it’s portrayed well by the cast.  It’s one of the most attractive films of modern times and is a carousel of love and jazz.   
It took seven of the Golden Globes that it was nominated for, and it could take up to 10 BAFTA awards, and it will also figure in the 14 Oscar nominations it has received.