Jackie
This movie is a portrait of one of the most important and tragic moments in American history, seen through the eyes of the iconic First Lady, then Jacqueline Kennedy (Natalie Portman). Jackie places us in her world during the days immediately following her husband's assassination. Known for her extraordinary dignity and poise, here we see a portrait of the First Lady as she fights to establish her husband's legacy and the world of "Camelot" that she created and loved so well.
Working with a limited budget of $9.0M, the film achieved a modest success with $14.0M in global revenue (+55% profit margin).
Nominated for 3 Oscars. 44 wins & 170 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Jackie (2016) demonstrates deliberately positioned narrative design, characteristic of Pablo Larraín's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 14-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 40 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.1, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Jackie Kennedy sits for an interview with a Life magazine journalist at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, establishing the frame narrative one week after the assassination. She appears composed but haunted, controlling the narrative of what can be published.. The analysis reveals that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when The assassination in Dallas. Jackie experiences the horror of JFK being shot in the motorcade, holding his shattered head, covered in his blood. The trauma is depicted in fragmented, visceral detail as her world irrevocably shatters.. At 13% through the film, this Disruption is delayed, allowing extended setup of the story world. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 25 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This shows the protagonist's commitment to Jackie makes the active decision to orchestrate JFK's funeral based on Abraham Lincoln's funeral, against the advice of the Secret Service and advisors who cite security concerns. She chooses to take control of his legacy through public spectacle and ritual., moving from reaction to action.
At 51 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 51% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Of particular interest, this crucial beat During the interview, Jackie breaks down emotionally, the facade cracking. She admits to the journalist the horror of what she experienced and her terror of being forgotten, revealing the false victory of her composed exterior. The performance can't hold., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 76 minutes (76% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Alone in the White House bedroom, Jackie reaches her lowest point. She puts on the blood-stained pink suit again, reliving the assassination in agonizing detail, confronting the full horror of death and meaninglessness. She nearly collapses under the weight of trauma and existential despair., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Synthesis at 80 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. The funeral procession unfolds as Jackie orchestrated it: grand, public, dangerous, and mythic. She walks behind the coffin with world leaders, creating the image that will define Kennedy's legacy. She executes her vision while carrying her private devastation, synthesizing performance and authentic grief., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Jackie's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 14 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping Jackie against these established plot points, we can identify how Pablo Larraín utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Jackie within the biography genre.
Pablo Larraín's Structural Approach
Among the 2 Pablo Larraín films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.3, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Jackie takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Pablo Larraín filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional biography films include Lords of Dogtown, Ip Man 2 and A Complete Unknown. For more Pablo Larraín analyses, see Spencer.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Jackie Kennedy sits for an interview with a Life magazine journalist at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, establishing the frame narrative one week after the assassination. She appears composed but haunted, controlling the narrative of what can be published.
Theme
The journalist asks Jackie about her legacy and how she wants to be remembered. Jackie responds about the importance of how history is written and who controls the story, establishing the film's central theme of legacy, myth-making, and the performance of grief.
Worldbuilding
Through flashbacks interwoven with the interview, we see Jackie's life as First Lady: her televised White House tour showing her restoration work, her role as cultural ambassador, her relationship with Jack, and the carefully curated image of Camelot she helped create.
Disruption
The assassination in Dallas. Jackie experiences the horror of JFK being shot in the motorcade, holding his shattered head, covered in his blood. The trauma is depicted in fragmented, visceral detail as her world irrevocably shatters.
Resistance
In the immediate aftermath, Jackie is in shock aboard Air Force One as LBJ is sworn in. She refuses to change out of her blood-stained suit. Bobby Kennedy and others try to guide her through protocol, but she resists being managed, insisting on her own way of processing the tragedy.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Jackie makes the active decision to orchestrate JFK's funeral based on Abraham Lincoln's funeral, against the advice of the Secret Service and advisors who cite security concerns. She chooses to take control of his legacy through public spectacle and ritual.
Mirror World
Jackie seeks counsel from a priest (John Hurt), beginning a series of conversations that serve as the thematic Mirror World. He challenges her faith, grief, and the meaning she's trying to create from senseless tragedy, representing spiritual and philosophical counterpoint.
Premise
Jackie executes her vision for the funeral while battling grief, trauma, and those who want to minimize public exposure. She walks through the White House in a trance, drinks heavily, plans every detail of the procession, and fights to create the myth of Camelot against the chaos of her shattered psyche.
Midpoint
During the interview, Jackie breaks down emotionally, the facade cracking. She admits to the journalist the horror of what she experienced and her terror of being forgotten, revealing the false victory of her composed exterior. The performance can't hold.
Opposition
As the funeral approaches, Jackie faces mounting opposition: Bobby tries to protect her, the new administration wants her out of the White House, she must confront the reality of leaving, and her grip on controlling the narrative becomes more desperate. Her drinking intensifies as trauma overwhelms her.
Collapse
Alone in the White House bedroom, Jackie reaches her lowest point. She puts on the blood-stained pink suit again, reliving the assassination in agonizing detail, confronting the full horror of death and meaninglessness. She nearly collapses under the weight of trauma and existential despair.
Crisis
Jackie sits with the priest in her darkest night, questioning whether there's any meaning to Jack's death or her suffering. She confronts the possibility that the myth she's creating is a lie, that history doesn't care, that she's performing grief for nothing.
Act III
ResolutionSynthesis
The funeral procession unfolds as Jackie orchestrated it: grand, public, dangerous, and mythic. She walks behind the coffin with world leaders, creating the image that will define Kennedy's legacy. She executes her vision while carrying her private devastation, synthesizing performance and authentic grief.
Transformation
In the final interview scene, Jackie edits the journalist's piece, controlling exactly what can be published about her story. She has transformed from traumatized widow to author of history, understanding that legacy is constructed through performance, and she will control the myth of Camelot she created.