In director Pablo Larrain’s intimate and unrelenting biopic, Natalie Portman delivers a tour de force performance as Jacqueline “Jackie” Kennedy at the time of her husband’s assassination. Noah Oppenheim’s script hops backwards and forwards in time, perfectly mirroring that of a fragile state of mind, bookended by an interview between Jackie and an unnamed reporter (Billy Crudup) that she controls. It’s a fascinating insight into one woman’s shock and how her coping mechanisms spring into action to protect both her children and her husband’s honour. The obvious physical differences between Portman and the real life Jackie are inconsequential as Larrain is more interested in far richer aspects of her character. Portman dominates the film; her range and vulnerability laid bare in a way that mesmerises to the very end. Larrain hasn’t only made an exceptional biopic that has true haunting power, he’s made one that’s unconventional in its structure – and the film is all the better for it.
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