Jackie

For his first English-language film, Pablo Larraín – who has established himself as the chronicler of Chile’s Pinochet era – takes on the murder of John F. Kennedy. But as seen from the perspective of his wife Jackie (the much-lauded Natalie Portman, who is almost constantly on screen). In a frame narrative, she talks as a widow to a journalist from Life magazine (Billy Crudup), while we see her husband’s murder in flashbacks, as well as the vehement discussions the First Lady conducts about this with officials and the succour she receives from John’s brother Bobby (Peter Sarsgaard), her PA (Greta Gerwig) and a priest (John Hurt).
As in No (2012), Larraín integrates archive footage into his film – for example, we see Portman walking around in the famous television broadcast A Tour of the White House. In the meantime, the screenplay by Noah Oppenheim (award-winner at the Venice film festival) creates an intimate, complex impression of fashion icon Jackie, who – insecure and headstrong, spoiled and servile, vulnerable and strong – always has JFK’s place in history in mind.

With a special screening on Fri 27 Jan at 15:45. Preceded by a video essay by Kevin B. Lee and followed by a conversation with film journalists Jan Pieter Ekker and Dana Linssen. 

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