Movie Review
“Jackie”
Release Date: December 2, 2016
MPAA Rating: R (for brief strong violence and some language)

Among the most stellar performances by actors during the past year in film, certainly included at the top is the portrayal of Jacqueline Kennedy by Natalie Portman. 

The actress skillfully and convincingly grasps the essence of the young First Lady in the days surrounding the assassination of her husband, President John F. Kennedy.  The heartbreak the country collectively suffered during November 1963 is relived through the compelling narrative in the hands of director Pablo Larraín from a screenplay by Noah Oppenheim. 

Kudos also to Madeline Fontaine’s costume design and Jean Rabasse’s production design that respectively and respectfully convey the spirit of “Camelot,” as Kennedy’s halcyon time in The White House had often been referred.

The film unfolds primarily in a series of flashbacks as Jackie, now a widow, shares her anguish with a print journalist during an interview session.  The stylistic approach works well yet, ultimately, Portman’s performance is more powerful than the film is as a whole, and that is reason enough to see the movie.