Natalie Portman shines through a slightly disjointed biopic.
Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children, and define her husband's historic legacy.
The cinematography, score and direction are all simply sublime. The film is meticulously planned down to every last detail and it looks beautiful. The performances are great, Natalie Portman hardly ever leaves the screen and while she bares no real physical resemblance to Jackie, her voice is spot-on. Portman conveys a depth not seen in cinema for years, there’s a real harrowing feeling to her performance. You truly do believe she has loved and lost. It is by far one of the greatest performances of her career and the way the camera spends most of the movie on her face only helps highlight this fact.
The script can be a little clunky, not “bad,” but there were certainly room for some slightly more comfortable segues between scenes. The cutting to and from one of her TV appearances was a clever idea, but in realisation didn’t always work. However, the screenwriter’s dialogue based scenes are brilliant - the realistic nature of the conversations make you believe your watching a conversation right in front of you.
Overall a phenomenal performance from Portman and a solid film that could easily win an Oscar come February.
4 Stars
Review by Benjamin Maio Mackay
Screening courtesy of eOne Entertainment
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