Film Reviews by JB

Perhaps because of my negative bias, I would've expected a film written and directed by a former Jehovah's witness to be angry. But this is a film which is an honest and empathetic look at the experience of being part of a little understood religion.

It's not perfect.. It does feel a bit contrived in places. Conversations between believers and non believers are very much done for the audience's benefit, as an explanation of the religion, rather than as naturalistic scenes. And the two significant plot points, together in one film, do threaten to take the movie into "issue of the week" TV film territory. But the strength of the performances, plus the effort the film goes to humanise every aspect of the religion, gives its an urgency and potency that is never less than gripping. And its authenticity is undeniable. I really liked it!

I don't review on here much but felt I needed to as, as of the time of writing, all the other reviews on here were negative. I liked the movie!

Yes, the central character is a self involved and relatively privileged person who could be seen as unlikable. But what the other reviewers here saw as an insufferable mess, I see as someone who is unhappy and unconsciously seeking redemption. The film is clearly portraying him as someone who has his ugly side and has no self awareness. Screenwriter and director Mike White has fun with this, with some very uncomfortable fantasy sequences... And, sequences in the 'reality' of the film, such as Ben Stiller staring at his half naked son. It's more Alan partridge than Woody Allen. Mike White has form with his... His 2000 debut Chuck and Buck features some of the most uncomfortable scenes I've ever seen in a movie.

It's the journey Ben Stiller goes on that makes this film interesting... Getting over his status as a so-called beta male, masochistically enthralled with his more so-called successful friends. It's ironic in some way, as it's his son who is going to university, and about to embark on a big life journey... Not Ben! But Ben needs it more.

It's not as satisfying as some of White's other stuff... I love, love his TV series Enlightened with indie goddess Laura Dern . It unfortunately does underwrite its major female character, the wife of the Ben Stiller character played by Jenna Fischer. And its ending does feel rather pat and unchallenging. But it has much more subtlety, intelligence and uncomfortable fun than a film about a man going through a midlife crisis should have.

I feel this is a movie that will divide audiences - it's fragmentary, doesn't deliver a clear linear narrative but what it lacks in a straightforward approach to its subject matter, it gains by providing something that tries to be more rich and more beautiful. It's not a typical Oscar movie or traditional biopic. It depends on your sensibility and expectations of a biopic, so I'd recommend it to film fans who like coming at a story a little sideways, rather than those who want something more clear-cut and unchallenging. This is not a movie to unwind to!

The spine of the film is an interview of Jackie Kennedy conducted by a reporter, some months after the Kennedy Assassination, after Jackie has moved out of the White House. She is in control of the interview from the outset; self-editing, self-conscious but always imperious. The movie then flashes back and forward between the interview and several key moments in her life as First Lady - her 1961 'tour of the White House'; and the events immediately before, during and after JFK's assassination.

Natalie Portman portrays Jackie Kennedy as a woman who needs to play multiple roles - a mother, a wife, First Lady, a cultural icon and 'mourner in chief' and the fragmentory nature of the film allows a 360 degree view of all of this. Quite impressive, considering its c. 90-minute running time. I loved her! The supporting cast is great and varied (although mostly merely extended cameos - Jackie is in every scene, and dominates every moment). Shout out to the Mica Levi soundtrack - some may find it invasive, but it's on par with the music in films like There Will Be Blood (the music there is by the fabulous Jonny Greenwood) and Levi's work in Under the Skin. It adds a woozy, occasionally nightmarish, mood and is completely on par with the self-conscious nature of the storytelling.