New Trailer - Natalie Portman as Jackie O. — Page 4

Isabelle Huppert was much better than both Portman and Stone in Elle.

I saw Jackie today and I was less than impressed. There were moments of striking brilliance performance wise and some breathtaking visuals, but the film as a whole left me cold. I've seen better cinematic depictions of grief (hell, I thought Rabbit Hole was better in that respect) and again I think much of the films power was cribbed from the blending of stock footage and sentimentality of the iconic images. I think that is cheating a little.

Also, I came away feeling like the takeaway was that Jackie was a fraud. This seemed odd. Yes, I get the film was about facades but it felt hollow. I know very little about Jackie and this film gave me little to no insight into her. Even a grieving woman in a hurricane has more depth, especially the controlling one being interviewed. I don't even feel the film gave her much dignity.

At 90 minutes I found the film a slog. I adore Portman but I found it her most superficial performance. At times she sounded like Drew Barrymore's Little Edie complete with "You understand?" and other times no accent. She went from zombiefied to hysterical. It got old quick. I found the screenplay lackluster. Portman limped from one scene to another. If you look on rotten tomatoes, critics love it, audiences are more critical and not really getting it so much.

I thought Richard E Grant as the decorator was a sympathetic standout

Greta Gerwig was the standout for me. If the world were just, she should be a huge star.

east side story said: "Huppert IS fantastic. However, she missed out on a SAG nomination, her film is ineligible at the BAFTAs, and ELLE is not one of the finalists for Foreign Film at the Oscars. Oscar wins are so much about momentum now, which is why there are rarely if ever surprise wins in major categories. If she were to pull off an upset at the Globes, making the final five for Best Actress with the Academy is still an uphill battle. And if she does pull off a nomination, she'll be in third at best.

****

Is she BAFTA eligible for Things to Come?

I expect Huppert has a very good chance of getting an oscar nod. It is hard to imagine anyone longer overdue for a nomination than her. If she is nominated, and if enough voters see the movie, it is still an uphill road. But her work in Elle, and the movie itself, no matter what one thinks of it, so singularly courageous, that she could possibly pull it off.

Her not being nominated for any of these, Fantod, shocks the conscience. Her work with Chabrol in Story of Women and La Ceremonie is unforgettable. And what a surprise and delight it was to see her high clowning - her campy shift from frump to high glamor - in Eight Women (like a Carol Burnett-enchanted Huppert under the direction of an Almodovar-possessed Ozon). Every single acting move she makes in Elle is at once startlingly unexpected and utterly truthful.