You might think you've figured out Jackie before the film even begins: Oscar-winning actress goes for more gold, playing a historical (and hysterical) figure whose demons emerge after a tragedy. That's certainly the case here, but director Pablo Larrain, writer Noah Oppenheim, and star Natalie Portman have created one of the least Oscar-bait-y contenders in recent memory. Though Jackie flaunts the grandeur of a studio film, its acting, arcs, and artistry are intimate. We skip liberally through time, making sense of Mrs. Kennedy's life piece by piece, just as she might have in the week following her husband's assassination. Especially noteworthy are Billy Crudup as the reporter whose interview bookends the film, and John Hurt as Jackie's father-confessor. They personify the opposing impulses of surrender and transcendence vying for the First Lady's soul. Jackie demystifies "America's Camelot", but never loses sight of the epic forces within us all that sometimes change the world.
Listen to Kicking the Seat Podcast #175 for a closer look at Jackie with HollywoodChicago.com's Patrick McDonald!