--- title: "Jackie: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/jackie/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/jackie" critics_score: 75 critics_reviews: 28 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Jackie (2016): what the critics said Critics' score 75 from 28 reviews: 19 positive, 4 mixed, 5 negative. Most critics admire Jackie, and the praise centres almost entirely on Natalie Portman. Critics call her performance layered, controlled and physically precise, with particular attention to the voice and to the way she holds Jackie Kennedy’s steel and fragility in the same frame. Mica Levi’s score is the other constant, singled out for tying the public image-making to the private grief. Several critics also welcome Pablo Larraín’s decision to abandon the conventional biopic for something fractured and intimate. The disagreement is about whether that fracturing works. The dissenters call the film erratic, incoherent or rudderless, and fault the jumbled timeline for creating distance; Sight and Sound finds it remote and small-scaled, The New Yorker intrusive and often absurd, The Ringer unable to make its ideas cohere. The spread is wide, from full marks to the low thirties. Even the harshest reviews keep praising Portman and Levi; the quarrel is with the film around them. ## Little White Lies — Sophie Monks Kaufman Rating 3/5/4. 20 January 2017. Kaufman finds the film a gorgeous, layered portrait of Jackie, praising its intelligence and emotional restraint. She singles out Portman’s performance and the striking images that capture Jackie’s carefully managed public image. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/jackie) ## Time Out — Joshua Rothkopf Rating 5/5. 16 December 2016. The review is strongly positive, saying Natalie Portman triumphs in the lead role. It singles out her performance as the film’s standout strength. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/jackie) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 7 September 2016. Festival review. Rooney finds the film an emotionally shattering, perceptive portrait of grief, legacy and political maneuvering. He particularly praises Natalie Portman’s layered, incandescent performance as Jackie Kennedy. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/jackie-926210/) ## Evening Standard — David Sexton Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 13 September 2016. Festival review. Sexton calls the film an astonishing and unexpected achievement. He singles out Natalie Portman’s riveting performance and Mica Levi’s score for praise. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/toronto-film-festival-2016-jackie-review-extraordinary-achievement-far-from-ordinary-kennedy-biopic-a3343486.html) ## IndieWire — Ben Croll Rating A-. 7 September 2016. Festival review. Croll calls the film a bracing, distinctive triumph, though it falters somewhat toward the end. He especially praises Natalie Portman’s layered, physically expressive performance as Jackie. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/jackie-review-pablo-larrian-jackie-kennedy-biopic-1201724093/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 December 2016. Turan finds the film transporting and transfixing, praising its bold, emotionally effective approach to a familiar tragedy. He singles out Natalie Portman’s convincing, nuanced performance as Jackie and her collaboration with Pablo Larraín. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-jackie-review-20161128-story.html) ## The Guardian — Nigel M Smith Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 13 September 2016. Festival review. The critic calls the film a singular, uncompromising work and concludes that it is great cinema. Portman’s intimate, vivid portrayal of Jackie Kennedy is singled out for praise, especially her voice and emotional vulnerability. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/sep/13/jackie-review-natalie-portman-kennedy-jfk) ## RogerEbert.com — Brian Tallerico Rating 3.5/4. 1 December 2016. Tallerico gives the film a positive review, praising Natalie Portman’s performance. He also singles out Larraín’s intimate, fractured portrait of Jackie Kennedy. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/jackie-2016) ## Variety — Guy Lodge Fi1m's normalised score 88/100 (inferred from the text). 7 September 2016. Festival review. Lodge finds the film a daring, richly constructed portrait of grief and legacy, though its intimate approach may unsettle viewers expecting a conventional biopic. He particularly praises Natalie Portman’s layered, technically precise performance. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/jackie-review-natalie-portman-1201853716/) ## Empire — Olly Richards Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 16 January 2017. Richards finds Jackie an insightful biopic that brings its subject vividly to life. He especially praises Natalie Portman’s nuanced performance, which conveys Jackie’s steel and fragility. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/jackie-review/) ## Radio Times Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 9 January 2017. The review presents the film as an incisive and memorable portrait. It singles out Natalie Portman’s performance as towering. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/jackie-review-a-towering-performance-from-star-natalie-portman/) ## Total Film — Neil Smith Rating 4/5. 16 January 2017. The review praises the film as an unconventional, moving portrait, crowned by Natalie Portman’s performance. It also singles out Mica Levi’s sublime score, while noting that a conversation with a priest slows the pace. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/jackie-review/) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 1 December 2016. The page could not be accessed, so the critic’s verdict and specific praise or complaint are unavailable. The URL identifies a New York Times review of the matching film. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/01/movies/jackie-review-natalie-portman.html) ## Screen Daily — Jonathan Romney Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 7 September 2016. Festival review. The page identifies this as a Venice review, but the critic’s verdict is not visible. No praise or complaint can be determined from the accessible text. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/jackie-venice-review/5109156.article) ## Vulture — David Edelstein Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 1 December 2016. Edelstein finds the film hard to love but admires its brittle, ambivalent quality. He praises Natalie Portman’s portrayal of Jackie’s mix of shyness and slyness, while finding her voice unnatural in some scenes. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2016/11/movie-review-jackie.html) ## Slant Magazine — Christopher Gray Rating 2/4. 28 November 2016. Gray calls the film striking but ultimately erratic and rudderless. He praises Mica Levi’s score for bridging the gap between Jackie’s self-conscious image-making and her raw grief. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/jackie/) ## Sight and Sound — Tom Charity Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 16 September 2016. Charity finds the film interesting but emotionally remote and disappointingly small-scaled. He praises Mica Levi’s tremulous score for expressing Jackie’s inner turmoil in vivid White House sequences. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/jackie-review-portrait-icon-under-shadow) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 27 November 2016. Lane finds the film intrusive, presumptuous, and often absurd, though it may gratify viewers drawn to the breaking of formal façades. He praises Natalie Portman’s watchful, tremulous performance and her precise capture of Jackie Kennedy’s voice. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/12/05/jackie-and-allied) ## Consequence — Allison Shoemaker Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 1 December 2016. The critic calls the film a stunning, unsentimental reinvention of the biopic. She especially praises Natalie Portman’s complex, raw performance as Jackie Kennedy. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2016/12/film-review-jackie/) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 3 December 2016. Hammond finds the film haunting and calls Portman’s performance transformative and unforgettable. He also praises the production and costume design for vividly recreating the Camelot era. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2016/12/jackie-review-natalie-portman-jacqueline-kennedy-1201863884/) ## Den of Geek — Edward Douglas Rating 4.5/5. 16 October 2016. The critic finds the film an exceptional, artistically ambitious portrait of grief and history. He especially praises Natalie Portman’s performance, alongside the screenplay, visuals, and Mica Levi’s score. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/jackie-review/) ## NME Rating ★★★★. The review finds the film riveting and heart-rending. It singles out Natalie Portman’s tour-de-force performance as the film’s lifeblood. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/jackie-film-review-1949477) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating B. 30 November 2016. Festival review. Goldberg finds the film an engaging, complicated portrait of Jackie Kennedy, though its succession of endings blunts the finale. He especially praises Natalie Portman’s layered performance, which balances Jackie’s strength and vulnerability. [Read the review](https://collider.com/jackie-review-natalie-portman/) ## Paste — Dom Sinacola Rating 7.7/10. 2 December 2016. Sinacola finds the film disorienting and monumentally surreal, though its script’s explanations of myth-making feel overly obvious. He praises Natalie Portman’s finely controlled performance and the sumptuous, tactile imagery that makes Jackie’s grief feel immediate. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/jackie/jackie) ## The Playlist Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 2 December 2016. The headline signals a positive view of the film as a deeply human portrait. The page content is blocked, so no specific element of the review can be confirmed as singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/pablo-larrains-devastatingly-human-portrait-of-jackie-natalie-portman-review-20161202/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 1 December 2016. The critic finds the film impressionistic but ultimately incoherent, with Portman’s portrayal only intermittently convincing. The funeral-planning sequences are singled out as especially illuminating, while the fractured timeline is faulted for creating emotional distance. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/jackie-review-natalie-portman-kennedy/) ## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 26 November 2016. Kermode finds the film more gloss than substance, though its cultivated emptiness may be deliberate. She praises Larraín’s precise framing and elegant sets for reinforcing its theme of artificiality. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/jackie-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) ## The Ringer — K. Austin Collins Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 1 December 2016. Collins finds the film disappointing, arguing that its competing ideas about Jackie’s public persona and private self never come together. He praises the White House tour sequences for showing her carefully constructing her public image, but faults the film’s fussy structure and melodramatic portrayal. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2016/12/01/movies/jackie-movie-review-662b205e4111) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/jackie.md