We're on the even of one of America's most contested inaugurations and I can't help but think of the Kennedys. I went to see the film Jackie when it was in limited release last month, and truly got a feel for what it must be like to plan these events. In the movie, Oscar Winner Natalie Portman plays the beloved first lady interviewed for TIME magazine, struggling in the days, weeks and months after her husband's assassination. She plans a funeral and procession through the Capitol district while comforting her young children in the public eye. Jackie picked out a grave site in Arlington National Cemetery, battling her in-laws that insisted the president needed to be laid to rest in the family plot in Massachusetts. She seemed strong toward the outside world, meanwhile she crumbled in private, reliving her best outfits and listening to the soundtrack for the musical Camelot (a favorite of the late president).
Portman's performance got inside the fragile first lady's suits. When she is asked to change into a fresh outfit in Dallas directly after John is assassinated, she refuses. She insists she will keep her iconic bloodstained pink suit to show people what has been done to her husband. TIME interviewer Theodore H.White (Billy Crudup) gets guarded answers out of Mrs. Kennedy throughout their December 1963 interview, which can be found here. While Jackie relives the day of her husband's death, she herself becomes icon, one of America's most photographed first ladies, before and after her time in office. As White finished the interview, Jackie reminded him that Jack was America's father. As a sobbed into the credits, White reminded Jackie that she was America's mother. Oscar Gold!
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