Jackie

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Jackie [2016]

Starring: Natalie Portman, Greta Gerwig, Peter Sarsgaard

Direction by Pablo Larrain

Language: English

It was such a vivid portrayal of a woman ripped apart, not only by her own mentality, but by her those around her so prominent in the public eye. Plain and simple, this movie was so raw. Moving, haunting, and thrilling in a sometimes subtle way, it was such a brilliant watch. 

The idea of grief is portrayed in such an interesting way in this movie: grief, as it appears in this work, is almost an empowerment. Loss has allowed the protagonist, Jackie, to cut herself free from the expectations required of her, and really take charge of her own life, as well as the lives of those around her. And whilst downfall is a significant theme in this movie, it is the theme of empowerment that really takes centre stage. This movie was stitched: the plotline connects a single interview post the death of John F. Kennedy, and the events that happened previously. To see the protagonist's lack of control before the death almost gives the impression that grief is liberating despite it otherwise being so overwhelmingly distressing. This complexity in the portrayal of grief, therefore, is where the movie really soars. 

I think I have talked about how grief and how the process of it is rarely talked about through visual media, but what differentiated this movie from others of the same genre was the historical significance of it. Whenever a person of significant fame gets killed, we so often tend to dwell on the death itself rather than the fallout, and its effect on close family. 

My problem with the movie lies within the structure of it. This constant jumping between time frames was extremely disorienting, and, at times, unclear. These movements between times could have been so much clearer, but alas that is just a flaw us audiences will have to deal with. 

The pacing was also off. It was so solemn the entire movie: there was virtually no contrast. Trying to watch this movie, at some points, was like trying to stay awake during a very boring lesson. 

I thought that this movie was strong, to an extent: the narrative power was quite good, and Portland's performance was decent. It was the pacing and structure of the movie that led to its downfall, at least in my eyes. Unfortunately, this movie was no match for La La Land (the review of which is coming up shortly). 

6/10

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