After the dull, formulaic likes of “Ray,” “Walk The Line” and “Amelia,” the term ‘biopic’ has almost become a dirty word in Hollywood, and you could feel people’s trepidation when it was announced that Darren Aronofsky would be reteaming with real-life partner Rachel Weisz on “Jackie,” a script by newcomer Noah Oppenheim that focuses on Jackie Kennedy.
The project, initially set to be produced by Steven Spielberg for HBO, was announced as centering on the four days between the assassination of JFK and his burial, and Rachel Weisz, plugging the imminent release of “Agora” to MTV, confirmed this, saying “It’s a very beautiful script… I think it’s the four or five days after the assassination and how [Jackie] deals with the assassination and the funeral. It’s not a biopic. It’s about that short period of time. I’m thrilled at the idea of working with [Aronofsky] again.”
As it happens, we managed to get our hands on a copy of the script, and we can confirm that the film’s approach is fairly narrow in scope. The closest reference point would be “The Queen”; like that film, it looks behind the scenes at the aftermath of the death of one of the most public figures in the world, from a very private perspective. As might be expected, by focusing on Jackie Kennedy, it’s a little more emotionally raw than Stephen Frears’ film, but still manages to include the political wranglings and conflicts that result.
Aside from a (perhaps superfluous) top-and-tail framing device featuring Jackie (“only 34 years old, at the very height of her legendary beauty, and fully composed”) relating events to a journalist from the Kennedy compound on Cape Cod in December 1963, the script does indeed follow events from the fateful day in Dallas (although the shooting itself isn’t shown; Oppenheim cuts away as the car enters Dealey Plaza, picking up with Kennedy covered in her husband’s blood on Air Force One), to the funeral procession in Washington four days later.
Oppenheim is a former journalist and producer for “The Today Show” and “Hardball With Chris Matthews,” and his background shows; the script feels meticulously researched, and the behind-the-scenes depiction of public figures like Bobby Kennedy, Robert McNamara, Kenny O’Donnell and President Lyndon Johnson never feels anything less than totally convincing, often proving reminiscent of Aaron Sorkin’s work on “The West Wing.”
As Kennedy struggles with her own grief, and with how to inform her children of their father’s death (a well-handled scene; the children’s semi-comprehension again ringing true), she’s also caught up in the wrangling between the Kennedy camp (“the whole Mick crew” as President Johnson refers to them at one point), and Johnson’s camp, led by Jack Valenti, who are keen to demonstrate continuity and leadership by moving into the White House as soon as possible. Conflicts also arise from Jackie’s desire to emulate Lincoln’s funeral, and to lead her husband’s body in a procession to the cathedral, which senior figures worry is a safety risk in the aftermath of the assassination.
Much of Kennedy’s motivation comes from an understanding that her husband has become a symbol in his death — she says at one point “He belongs to the country now. As much as to us.” But, with Johnson moving in so quickly, she’s also concerned for his achievements and legacy; in one brutally honest moment she tells the family that “If he’d been killed for civil rights… at least then it would have meant something.” It doesn’t whitewash their relationship totally either; while Kennedy’s infidelity is never directly referred to, there are a few moments which imply it — Jackie sitting sadly in his room, commenting that “We hardly ever spent the night together.”
This writer’s a sucker for partly-repressed quiet heroism anyway, but we were still surprised by how moving we found the script; we can imagine that on the screen, it’ll be hard to choke back the tears as Jackie takes the nation’s grief on her shoulders and leads world leaders (including Charles De Gaulle, who has a nice scene to himself) to the funeral through streets crammed with mourners. It’s a hell of a part for Weisz, and one that we’re sure she’ll knock out of the park (she gave one of the best stage performances we’ve ever seen in “A Streetcar Named Desire” last year). Aronofsky is a less obvious choice to helm the picture, but then he’s never made obvious choices. In a way, he’s actually a very smart choice; on the page, the project, like “The Queen,” risks feeling like TV rather than film, so bringing in someone with an eye as good as Aronofsky’s can only help elevate the material.
The project still doesn’t seem to be set up at a studio, but we’d be surprised if it took much longer, and the fact that Weisz is already talking it up in the press suggests she sees it as a priority. We hope the couple do make it their next project; there’s the potential here for something very special.
