Any number of actresses could have put on a pink Chanel suit and pretended to be Jacqueline Kennedy, but what Natalie Portman achieves in Jackie is nothing short of miraculous. Jackie is the most complex portrayal of the American icon yet put on-screen, transcending cliché and hero worship to reveal a strong, passionate, intelligent woman who loved profoundly.
Jackie opens a week after the shooting that threw the United States into disarray. The former First Lady has retreated to Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, where she is joined by Life journalist Theodore H. White (Billy Crudup). Clearly shaken and suspicious of his motives, but ever erudite and graceful, Jackie grants him intimate interviews and the story of her life in the White House and her efforts to give her husband the funeral he deserved is told in flashback.
Director Pablo Larraín (best known for the Chilean political drama No) immediately creates a sense of inner sanctum intimacy that is almost voyeuristic - appropriate given the ever-encroaching presence of the press. Tight close-ups and unrefined but beautiful handheld camera work and long, fluid shots place the audience in the scene, which becomes even more remarkable when Portman is placed almost seamlessly into footage of the real Jackie, most notably her televised tour of the White House.
The cast, which also includes Peter Sarsgaard as Bobby Kennedy and the brilliant Greta Gerwig as Social Secretary Nancy Tuckerman, bring enormous gravitas to what is actually a very understated film. At the centre of it is a performance by Natalie Portman that reveals layers of personality in single sentences, achieving far more than just an impersonation. Portman performs with an emotional honesty reminiscent of the great Gena Rowlands in the films of John Cassavetes.
Jackie could have easily slipped into melodrama, or empty romanticising of the enigmatic woman, but instead Noah Oppenheim's screenplay is a thoughtful and simmering character study. Even the film's biggest moments are restricted to the orbit of the titular figure. Often it is a masterclass in cinematic technique, saying with images what words could not. The score by Mica Levi (who previously composed the unsettling score for Under the Skin) is similarly restrained but gorgeously emotive, undulating with yawning counterpoint and minimalist melody.
At a time when many are approaching the glut of biopics that flood cinemas around Oscars time with cynicism, Jackie stands out. It is a roaring success in almost every way, and feels fresh and original despite focusing on a figure so deeply entrenched in the popular imagination. Beneath the dust of time and history, it uncovers a real woman and through her tells a tragic but beautiful love story between Jacqueline Kennedy and the country she adored.
Jackie opens in Australian cinemas on Thursday January 12th, 2017.
