MovieChat Forums > Jackie (2016) Discussion > Her accent is terrible!

Her accent is terrible!

posted 7 years ago by bpollen
30 replies | jump to latest

I feel like I'm in a surreal land. I wanna shout, "The emperor has no clothes on!" as everyone around seems to be giving Portman outlandish accolades for her accent & portrayal of Jackie.

Her accent is the worst imitation of Jackie I've ever heard! It truly is. Have these other people never heard Jackie? The sounds coming out of Portman's mouth sound like she's got a serious medical condition. Jackie was merely really feminine and spoke with a soft voice. Other than that, she spoke like a normal person!

I think it's just that Portman is popular right now, so people seem to think more highly of her work, just because they like her.

[–] jigglybottom 7 years ago

Agree completely. My husband and I looked at each other in disbelief when we first heard her speak in the trailer. It sounds completely off, yet so many people are saying she nailed it. I'm glad we're not the only ones who think this.

[–] PatchouliAndPearls 7 years ago

I'm currently watching her appearance on "The Tonight Show" around Thanksgiving, and they showed a clip and I was floored. Absolutely abominable. I was shocked!

[–] fanofmovies124 7 years ago

Also agree. I felt like I was watching Carol Channing perform Jackie. Natalie Portman was AWFUL, her accent was ATROCIOUS, and her mannerisms were ALIEN.

[–] 7 years ago

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[–] Mykle_Ykle 7 years ago

Thank you. Some people here are speech professional wannabes.

[–] VIETgrlTerifa 7 years ago

But even there, you saw Jackie looking like a real person. She had facial expressions like a normal person, and spoke with emotion. The most jarring scenes were the ones where they were showing Natalie Portman giving that White House tour and they oversold her putting on the TV-ready persona and not looking natural at all.

[–] iceman88869 7 years ago

Her fake accent made her sound like a slow thinking mental patient trying to imitate Marilyn Monroe.

tdonnelly-4 - The only resemblance I can tell after watching that video and comparing is the tone of voice. Otherwise, she talks to slow, calm and without expression.

[–] kisses5050 7 years ago

she actually sounded pretty close
Jackie and Marlyin both had that wisp in their voices

[–] lynxx (4) 7 years ago

Natalie Portman is one of my favorite actors, and the real Jackie did sound breathy like that.
That said, the film was disappointing because overwrought and slow. Jackie was not the only person who ever lost a loved one suddenly.

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

Lol, I haven't seen this yet, but are you talking about having her husband assassinated in front of her losing "a loved one suddenly"? Jeez- understatement of the freaking century.

[–] fishrock (53) 7 years ago

Not to mention seeing his head explode in front of her and chasing a piece of it across the back of a speeding limo because "Jack is going to need this" while being shoved roughly back into the car by an insensitive bodyguard.

Natalie Portman captured the brittle to the point of shattering but keeping it together because she had to perfectly. And the voice and accent were spot on. Maybe not perfect, but damn near.

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

This exactly. I'm still reeling from reading someone likening what she went through to just losing a loved one suddenly.

[–] ShogunofYonkers (73524) 7 years ago

Agreed
That weird inflection sold it for me

[–] raddickle 7 years ago

I've just watched the original Jackie Kennedy showing round the Whitehouse and I reckon NP pretty well nails the accent.

[–] Gus-69 7 years ago

Agreed. She sounded mentally handicapped.

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[–] WVfilmfem 7 years ago

I watched Jackie's original tour of the White House as an adolescent, and I was (then) aghast at how she spoke! Natalie Portman was perfect in her imitation of Jackie. Those who criticize this need to do some research!

[–] 7 years ago

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[–] gcarras (2736) 7 years ago

She was NOT mental nor sounded like it.....she was mid-Atlantic...so was husband/then-President JFK himself....many older Golden Age movie/episodic radio folks had it...after, the Kennedys came from the upper class Atlanitic areas...(rally they did, as Kate Hepburn would point out.)

Jackie was hot