The first trailer for Jackie, Pablo Larraín’s portrait of then–first lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, is all about Natalie Portman, and with good reason—the actress’ performance drew rave reviews at the Venice and Toronto film festivals, with some even suggesting the Oscar for Best Actress is hers to lose. The biopic’s new trailer cuts between different moments in the first lady’s time in the White House, from JFK’s funeral to the couple dancing at a gala to the immediate aftermath of Nov. 22, 1963—though it wisely skates around the details of JFK’s assassination itself, keeping the focus on Jackie and her reactions.
In fact, though the film also co-stars Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, and John Hurt, the trailer is almost entirely shots of Portman, whether happily serving cake or staring dolefully into the distance. “Camelot,” from the musical of the same name, plays over it all, a reminder of Jackie’s claim that JFK had loved the lines, “Don’t let it be forgot, that once there was a spot/ for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot.” And as Portman repeats the lyrics in voice-over over scenes of JFK’s memorial, it’s a pairing that becomes downright eerie.
Jackie is in theaters Dec. 2.
