I remember watching Oliver Stone's JFK in the cinema in 1991 and being mesmerised by the magic bullet theory. I'm not sure that an in depth knowledge of JFKs assassination is essential here, but it probably wouldn't hurt, as this is looking very much at the aftermath and as the title suggests, this is Jackie Onassis' story, with Natalie Portman representing her very well. She's hurt, aggressive, defiant, all at odds with the character shown before the events in Dallas and certainly how she's depicted to the public. Mica Levi's score is sombre and powerful, it's thick and haunting almost dragging some scenes along in its wake. These two elements make this a very heavy 90 minutes. Not much needs to be said of the motorcade, but needless to say that the way it's dealt with here is visceral. She's bitter and rightly so, there are some heart wrenching scenes that punch through all the formality, but I'm left with admiration for how she coped and to Pablo Larraín for this retelling. It's honest, addressing her husbands flaws, her fears, but always with an air of feeling wronged and a building tension to want to pick a fight. There's nothing of conspiracy theories or anything to make sense of events. There's no light, no let up in the hopelessness. Still despite all this, it's compelling viewing.
7/10
