In 2017, a biographical film about the former first lady of the United States, Jeffery Kennedy, successfully won the Oscar for Best Actress. However, the plot and ideological core of the film itself were deeply criticized. This film was created by Natalie Bo "The First Lady" starring Terman. At the beginning of the film’s creation, it was clear that its main purpose of creation was to win awards and make Olympics, just as every major Hollywood film company would do its best to spend a lot of money to create one or two films, obviously not for the box office. It is a film work for art.
Natalie Portman’s acting skills in this movie are already proficient in comparison with the previous years’ masterpiece "Black Swan", a lot less green and a bit more mature. As many commentators have said, Natalie has gradually got rid of the image of golden girl and jade girl set in the early days through her attempts in film work in the past few years. She has begun to try some characters with complex inner changes, moving towards depth and harmony. The breadth continues to evolve.
After watching "The First Lady", you will find that its performance and narrative rhythm are obviously far different from those of general biographical movies. Our understanding of the protagonist of the story has not increased with the progress of the storyline of the movie, but in The film is gradually blurred and mysterious. Who is Jefflin? Is it a rich and generous lady? Is the wife of the President with amazing power? Or an ordinary wife who was coldly treated by her husband? As the movie continues, we will find that although these characters have the same names and faces, they are completely different characters. Strictly speaking, the film "The First Lady" is not a biographical film, but an experimental film that combines the inner psychology of the characters and the true story.
She has a distinguished family background. She has been in the upper class of the United States since she was a child, but she has not the slightest pretentiousness of a rich lady, and no illusion of unlearning. She loved reading since she was a child, and she is proficient in multiple languages. As the saying goes, she "has a poem and book spirit." Her knowledge has made up for her shortcomings in appearance. If you have seen Jefflin’s personal photos, you will find that she is not a beauty in terms of facial features and appearance alone. However, through self-adjustment and attention to external image, she gradually became a distinguished beauty. In the end, her emphasis on her external image helped Kennedy ascend to the throne of president. Later, many historians once said that most of the credit for the memory and love of President Kennedy by the American people should be attributed to the wife who was with him. Jeffery.
For a long time, no matter what kind of problems her husband Kennedy encounters, Jeffery has tried her best to stand behind him and continue to help him win. This has caused many public to ignore her important role in Kennedy's success. It was not until after Kennedy was assassinated that her series of performances and actions allowed the world to gain insight into the unknown side of Jeffery. When Kennedy was shot three times in a row and fell into Jeffery's arms, generally speaking, normal women were already scared to death at this moment, or they were crying bitterly, but Jeffery was able to climb bravely regardless of the danger of being shot. Go to the back seat to pick up a husband’s skull. When the entourage asked her to change her blood coat in time, Jeffery insisted on not taking it off, because she knew very well that if the people across the country could not remember her husband’s death deeply, then the investigation into the real murderer would soon be conducted. Nothing more. When she stepped off the plane in blood to get everyone's attention, Jeffery knew very clearly that her goal was achieved. Kennedy's assassination later became one of the most classic scenes in modern American history, triggering countless people's desire to explore.
The emotional relationship between Kennedy and Jefflin was revealed in later generations, but there is not much left in Kennedy’s troubles, especially the complicated relationship between Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe revealed by later generations. These bystanders after many years are dumbfounded. The bystanders are still so, not to mention Jeffery, who is Kennedy's wife? In a documentary released later, we saw that the presidential couple, who looked very affectionate in front of the people, did not even have a hug or a kiss in private, and even the exchanges that the two had to have were brief and indifferent. But even if the marriage of the two people is dead in name, Jeffery can still make the act of sacrificing her life as soon as her husband is attacked, and she can still throw a series of truths to the public in order to protect her husband’s dignity and reputation after death. And beautiful lies. All this makes people have to admire Jeffery's courage and temperament.
"First Lady" thisThe special thing about this movie is that it finds a narrative clue between reality and dream. It uses the atmosphere and tone of depression and sorrow to bring to the audience a kind of being extremely close to the protagonist of the movie, and at the same time there is a semi-existence. Half-covered, dimly warm and cordial. We are like the person sitting across from Jefflin, full of sympathy and compassion, but with a hesitant silence. The whole movie does not show us a complete life story, but only interweaves the moment of Jeffery's indulging in sorrow and thought with the past few life fragments. The audience can only see Jeffery, or everything the director wants you to see.
As we mentioned earlier, in "The First Lady", the interpretation of Jefflin’s roles in different periods is always separated, as if Natalie played three roles instead of one character. same. There is always a discussion and pursuit of self-identity in movies. In a sense, Natalie's new work is not without similarities with her back then "Black Swan". In the film, along with the mature and realistic words of Jeffery played by Natalie at the beginning, we see a female figure who sees through the world and shows wildness and seduction. Then, in the memory, the first lady Jeffery, who was in the White House in 1962, playing the virtuous lady. From the perspective of the movie, we can actually find that this version of Jeffery was created to meet the needs of the public. of. Immediately after the assassination of her husband, she was full of pain and helplessness, but she had to maintain her husband’s funeral image by herself.
At the beginning of the film, the separation of the three different periods of Jeffery is very obvious, but as the plot of the film continues to unfold, we can find that behind these three images, they are actually just a lonely and speechless female image. . In order to maintain a balance between political life and personal life, and strive to maintain his own image of being dignified and generous in the public front, he constantly sacrificed and dedicated himself. There are several thought-provoking plots in the film clips after Kennedy's death. First of all, during the preparations for the funeral, when Jefflin proposed to give her husband an extremely grand state funeral, in the face of the noncommitment and indifference of a group of senior government officials, Jie and Kennedy were already in a state of marriage breakdown. Fei Lin was extremely determined and decisive at this time, which eventually made Kennedy's funeral a rare grand national funeral in American history. When hundreds of thousands of people's mourning pictures along the road slowly appeared in front of them and merged with the real history, it further proved that Jefflin's decision and thinking were correct. After her husband’s assassination, Jeffery, who was physically and mentally exhausted by sudden changes and various arrangements, faced the young and innocent two children. The motherhood and peace displayed by the audience made the audience feel a touch of helplessness in life. .
At the same time, the film also reflects the cold reality. When Jeffrey hadn’t fully recovered from the shock of the shooting, Vice President Johnson’s eagerness to be on the throne of the presidency, the government staff completely ignored Jeffrey. The practice of personal feelings fully expresses the ironic side of American politics. The melancholy and disappointment of Jeffery when she lost the title of First Lady, as well as the panic almost dancing in front of everyone, even exposed a woman's hands and feet when faced with difficulties, completely exposed to the audience.
And the most tasteful plot at the end of the movie is that Jefflin was interviewed by a reporter from "Life" magazine. She said that the drama Kennedy most often listened to during his lifetime was a glorious moment in "Camilo." This few words about her husband’s preferences during his lifetime have been continuously reported by various media, which enabled Kennedy to maintain a relatively positive evaluation of the performance of Kennedy's president for more than three years for a long time after his death. Later diverging from the "Camilo" drama, many media reports and nostalgic articles described Kennedy as an upright, brave, and truth-seeking fighter.
Even though Jeffery and Kennedy lost their original taste of love shortly after they got married, but in the face of the big troubles, Jeffery still sacrificed part of her true self and fulfilled her husband's persistent political career. It can be said that if it were not because of Jefflin’s various rushes after Kennedy’s death, Kennedy would soon be forgotten in the long river of history even if he died, not to mention becoming one of the most voiced presidents in the hearts of the American people. , Maybe the best ending of a marriage based on profit is nothing more than this, right?
in the play, played by Natalie PortmanJeffery only described the four short days of her long life. Outside the play, Jefflin's life continues. After Kennedy's death, Jeffery finally returned to the peaceful life she needed, and was finally able to decide everything she wanted instead of living to become the first lady in the eyes of the public. Later, she no longer had to worry about the opinions of others. She was a book editor with an annual salary of 10,000 yuan, and she was married to a Greek ship king and lived a life of peace of mind.
