Life in the aftermath
Jackie DVD ( Entertainment One, £14.99)
In December 1963, Life published “An epilogue” to the life of John F Kennedy. Based on an interview with Jackie Kennedy, reporter Theodore H White’s article enshrined the idea of JFK’s White House as “Camelot”.
It’s an encounter that acts as a framing device for Chilean director Pablo Larraín’s study of the former First Lady. This is an account of a life that has become fractured and fragmentary, an idea reflected in the film’s storytelling, which moves back and forward in time. That things never become too confusing speaks volumes about Natalie Portman’s performance as Jackie, which anchors the film. As Jackie seeks to maintain the outward cool that was her trademark, and necessary to get her through days in which she has to bury her husband with all due pomp and circumstance, Portman goes behind the mask to leave us in no doubt that this is a woman consumed by shock and grief. Most of all, this is a drama in which small details linger. Particularly memorable is the moment when Lyndon B Johnson is sworn in as president aboard a crowded Air Force One. Jackie is dutifully in attendance – but her face all too clearly betrays what this is costing her.