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The first Jackie trailer shows why Natalie Portman’s Jackie Kennedy is earning Oscar buzz

Alex Abad-Santos
Alex Abad-Santos is a senior correspondent who explains what society obsesses over, from Marvel and movies to fitness and skin care. He came to Vox in 2014. Prior to that, he worked at The Atlantic.

The early buzz surrounding the 2017 Oscar race is that Natalie Portman’s portrayal of Jacqueline “Jackie” Kennedy Onassis in Jackie is a masterpiece.

Now that Fox Searchlight has released the haunting first trailer for the film, moviegoers can start to decide for themselves.

Jackie Kennedy is, of course, a mythical, crucial figure in American history and culture. Her grace, courage, and composure in the face of terror is legendary.

"Let them see what they've done," she famously told her aides on November 22, 1963, in the immediate aftermath of John F. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas. They had suggested she clean herself up a bit, as she sat on the plane back to Washington with the blood of her husband, our 35th president, drying on her pink suit.

The movie is about that moment and the days following Kennedy’s assassination, told from Jackie’s point of view. The trailer features a few glimpses and flashes of that horrific day, intercut with what seem to be personal moments, like celebrating her son’s birthday or chasing her children in a park.

If there’s one obvious takeaway from the trailer (for those of us who haven’t seen the movie yet — it was shown at the Toronto Film Festival), it’s how much Portman sounds like the iconic first lady, and has embraced her mid-Atlantic accent.

“There won’t be another Camelot,” Portman says softly, in a way that induces chills and makes you hold your breath.

Jackie hits theaters on December 2.

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