It's not a one woman show; it's a triumph on all counts.

Rating: 8/10 (17 February 2017)

Biopics are a thorny undertaking. The usual old-school and conventional films attempted to re-count the subject's whole life ticking every required box both narratively and artistically. The proliferation of biopics or TV series, despite making the genre and the approach tiresome and unimaginative never really determined its disappearance or decline. In recent years however biopics are offered in different clothing, a characterization of the figure, focusing on a single defining event.
The film depicts Jackie Kennedy's four days following husband and then President John F. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas in 1963. The film's biggest strength is however what might pull away most: it's very personal, circumspect, sombre and emotionally violent approach. As the film unfolds, you realise that there would be no better way of telling this story, of defining this figure and this event. Larraín's firm, precise and artistic lens doesn't leave Portman for a minute, catching Jackie's every emotion, from the most contained glare to every discomposure. Despite being an almost one-woman-show it is not Portman's competent yet slightly caricatural performance that defines Jackie; it's the amalgamation of comprehensive talent, from the spotless art direction and costume design, to the elegant cinematography and overbearing yet appropriate score that altogether elevate the work.