Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy was one of America’s most iconic first ladies during those magical Camelot years of the early 60s. A biopic would be welcome and watchable. But that’s not how one would describe Chilean director Pablo Larrain’s English-language debut. Rather it’s a hard-edged study of political mythmaking, an almost unbearably intimate chamber drama concentrating on the traumatic days between JFK’s assassination and his funeral, as she fought to balance personal loss with national duty, and define her husband’s legacy. Natalie Portman eschews mimicry yet convincingly captures the woman’s essence in an emotionally complex role that earned her an Oscar nomination. (100 min)