Shooting blanks

comes across as a shrewd manipulator of the media. Determined to ensure that her late husband’s legacy will be forever enshrined in the nation’s psyche, she even emphasises his love of the popular Broadway musical Camelot. With the sudden death of her white knight, the privileged ‘princess’ is left with memories of the brief shining moments they shared in their fairy-tale kingdom. Not surprisingly, the heartbroken celebrity withdraws from public view following the elaborate state funeral which she insisted her husband deserved.

Utilising a battery of tight close-ups, Larrian fails to fully capture Jackie’s loneliness and torment in the wake of the tragedy. A textbook Oscar contender, Natalie Portman delivers a masterclass in BAD acting. The overbearing background music score by the British composer Mica Levi is incongruous.

Despite some impressive visual flourishes the muchhyped Jackie is a big let-down.

M Night Shyamalan NameJames McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy here

Of late, M Night ShyamaIan has been dismissed as a has-been auteur, no longer capable of such twisty delights as The Sixth Sense or Signs. The good news is that the micro-budgeted Split proves that the director can still whip up nailbiting tension despite the limited resources at his disposal. Recalling the work of such masters of the macabre as Alfred Hitchcock and Brian De Palma, Shyamalan devises a whopper of a climactic set which see-saws between camp and cool. An uncredited cameo from the star of a couple of his early films indicates possibility of a sequel. A stylish spinechiller, Split marks a welcome return to form for the former wunderkind. Carry on spooking.