Absorbing in its structure and potent in its emotional pull, Jackie explores the devastation of grief and the construct of legacy through the powerfully immersive direction of Pablo Larrain and utterly compelling performance by Natalie Portman.

John F. Kennedy is a figure who still looms high to this day. The first (and still only) Catholic to be voted as President, and despite only serving two years as Commander in Chief, Kennedy’s youth, his approach to Civil Rights, his backing of the Space Race, and his very public and tragic death by assassination, has seen the 35th President of United States of America become a figure of worship, controversy, and damn near legend as the years have progressed.

What is often forgotten is that JFK was also a husband and father. When he was gunned down by Lee Harvey Oswald on that fated day in Dallas, Texas, next to him was his wife and First Lady, Jackie Kennedy. A symbol of elegance and class during the Kennedy administration and beyond, it was she who bore the burden of witnessing her husband literally spill out in front of her, and subsequently the responsibility of building his legacy through a mixture of honest observation and cunning PR savvy. She did so in tribute to her fallen king and the legacy he began to establish while in the corridors of power.

It is at this point where Jackie places its focus. As directed with visual and emotional aplomb by increasingly impressive Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain (The Club) and exquisitely written by Noah Oppenheim (The Maze Runner), Jackie is a political biopic that elevates above the stoic conventions placed on the genre. It is a movie with a pulsating heart in mourning at its centre, exemplified by Natalie Portman’s riveting performance. The dual personalities of the former First Lady’s public identity (comprised of the elegant, debutante image) and the passionate, cunning persona behind the scenes, makes for a fascinating acting challenge which Portman rises to in a display of keen, passionate and soul deep thespian prowess.

Centred around the now infamous Life magazine interview between writer Arthur M. Schelsinger Jr. (Billy Crudup) and Jackie Kennedy, Jackie movies in and out of timelines pre-and post JFK’S assassination, delving deep in its observations that are both intimate and profound. In Larrain’s hands, Jackie is an incredibly immersive experience that is hard to shake after the credits role, a film that illuminates and movies in its artistry and its spirit.