Thomas’s review published on Letterboxd:
“Jackie” is a biographical drama that follows Jackie Kennedy during a short time period before, during, and after the assassination of her husband John F. Kennedy. It´s a personal, heartbreaking, and resonating portrayal of loss, grief, and trauma, while also exploring themes such as legacy, the role of the media, and public persona vs. private persona.
“Jackie” is more psychological character study than political drama and it´s almost entirely carried by Natalie Portman´s powerhouse performance. She totally disappears in her role and perfectly captures Jackie´s mannerisms (that accent caught me off guard), and truly embodies her grace, elegance, vulnerability, grief, and inner strength in equal parts. For the most time, Portman´s performance is subtle and controlled, as Jackie tries (though not fully succeeds) to hide her great inner turmoil, but she also has powerful emotional outbreaks that will stay in your mind, the mirror scene being the highlight. Greta Gerwig, Peter Sarsgaard, Billy Crudup, and John Hurt in his last role also leave positive impressions, but this is without a doubt the great Natalie Portman show.
Furthermore, the movie is an audiovisual pleasure. Cinematography, production design, and costumes are topnotch, and Mica Levi´s score is experimental (for a biopic) and evocative. I have my problems with the non-linear and fragmented narrative structure, though, since it feels disjointed and often meandering. The film has not a good flow, in my opinion, and I was beginning to lose interest in the second half. I should also say that I had no prior emotional investment concerning Jackie Kennedy or the Kennedy clan as a whole, which is probably why the film didn´t impact me as much as it impacted other people. For me, it could have been any other woman, who has tragically lost her husband in the public eye, and I would have felt the same way.
Anyways, as an intimate, melancholic, and beautifully crafted character-driven drama, “Jackie” is clearly above average and comes recommended.
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