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Though Jackie, the forthcoming biopic centering around the immediate aftermath of John F. Kennedy's assassination, won't be released until 2017, we finally get to see its star in character. Deadline has published the first image of Natalie Portman in costume as Kennedy, and even though she seems to have the bouffant, the pearls, and the prim skirt suit down pat, there's just one very important thing missing: the Boston accent.
Of course, Jackie Kennedy's accent was far from Southie (think Leonardo DiCaprio yelling, "I'm nawwt ah cawwp!" in The Depaah-ted) and is often described as "Locust Valley lockjaw," a pattern of speech stereotypically associated with upper-class Americans ("So where do you summ-ah?").
When Katie Holmes played her in the 2011 miniseries The Kennedys she was critiqued for her exaggerated speech pattern. Hopefully, this means Natalie Portman has been studying up, preferably by watching Grey Gardens repeatedly.
Natalie Portman As 'Jackie'; First Look As LD Entertainment & Bliss Media Board Biopic https://t.co/jsRxI3peQ5 pic.twitter.com/5WytQZ4Bi1
— Deadline Hollywood (@Deadline) December 17, 2015