Portman gives an incredible performance, strong and captivating, at times impressionistic. A real power house turn. As the film is mostly about style and tone heightened by immaculate costume design, cinematography, and uncanny score all revolving around Portman's titular Jackie the supporting cast doesn't have much to do. They are all serviceable but they have, justly, little focus. Peter Sarsgaard as Bobby, Greta Gerwig as Nancy Tuckerman, John Hurt in the somewhat befuddling role of Father Richard McSorley, and Crudup, all great actors, all function as foils for Portman rather than fully flushed out characters. And given how dynamic Portman is that's not really a problem.
All the design elements create an ethereal almost abstract feel and this is incredibly successful for the majority of the film but it either over stays its welcome or fails to sustain its eerie magnetism. Either way the film loses its footing in the third act, meandering when it should be definitive, protracting sequences which should be crisp. The film, essentially, ends multiple times but then circles back for another five minutes of obliqueness repeatedly which only serve to detract from the impressive work already done.
A provocative engaging production design paired with an evocative lead are marred by a failure to finish.
Rent It.
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