Oppenheim’s conscientious screenplay, masterfully envisioned with gentle sensibility by Chilean director Pablo Larrain, and brought to life with Natalie Portman’s commanding performance, unveils what we think we know, and reveals a flawless portrait of a woman who was trapped in a web of mendacity when she was at her most vulnerable shortly after John. F Kennedy’s assassination.
Portman never attempts to mimic or impersonate Jackie, but embodies the character physically and emotionally, with fervent passion and complete understanding; the emotional truth of her Oscar-worthy performance is heart-breaking, to such an extent that you want to reach out and hold her in your arms, comforting her desperate outcry. The ultimate goal of film is allowing us to feel.
Jackie most definitely gives us a wonderful opportunity to share the path the characters walk and experience their emotional state. When you leave the film it is as if you are walking away from Jackie’s private residence and waving goodbye to a trusted friend.
Billy Crudup is equally brilliant as the journalist who probes the vulnerable disposition of a woman whose fragile state of mind exposes the truth as she carefully manipulates her revelations.
As always, Peter Sarsgaard is in top form as Jackie’s equally shattered brother-in-law who was also the Attorney General of the United States, Robert F. Kennedy — an icon in his own right, who would be assassinated while running for President in 1968.
John Hurt delivers a memorable performance as Jackie’s priest, who really sees Jackie be herself, her most confessional self, and wrestle with why God would ever create this amount of pain.
If there’s one aspect of the film that really hits home, it’s the gut-wrenching moments Jackie shared with Kennedy when he collapsed in her lap after his assassination; action is character, and what Jackie does shows her integrity and allows us to share her pain and tragic loss.
The authenticity of Larrain’s fictional reality is mind-blowing; you will take a step into the past and relive the shocking truth of a story that is as relevant today as when it hit the headlines in 1963.
It shows the strength of a woman who had to face the world with pride and dignity when she was stripped of her status and lost a great love in her life.
If you enjoyed a film like The Iron Lady that transcends the traditional biopic-genre, and brings to life a refreshing new interpretation, then you will enjoy Jackie. Although it is set against the world of politics in the 60s, it is not at all a political film, but simply the story of a woman whose love of a man and family was destroyed by malevolent powers beyond her control.
It poignantly shows the face of humanity at its most vulnerable, and the importance of never allowing the past to become a jaded memory, but something we should always carry in our hearts and treasure with the utmost respect and dignity.
Read more about Jackie: www.writingstudio.co.za
