Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín is known for such internationally acclaimed movies as No (2012) and Neruda (2016) but rose to mainstream fame for his work on Jackie (2016) and Spencer (2021). He has also produced Chile’s Oscar contender, Sebastián Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman (2017), and directed the acclaimed miniseries Lisey’s Story (2021), written by Stephen King and produced by J.J. Abrams.

As a storyteller, Larraín is very much drawn to projects with a multi-layered woman in their focal points. He has a knack for combining the prominent elements of a handful of genres, from political drama to psychological horror. By taking a close look at Jackie and Spencer, let’s see what makes Larraín’s toolbox perfect for capturing the essence of iconic and charismatic women.

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Jackie (2016)

     Fox Searchlight Pictures

Jackie’s official synopsis reads, “Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children, and define her husband’s historic legacy.”

Jackie (2016) was the English-language debut of Larraín. The movie was written by Noah Oppenheim (Maze Runner) and starred Academy Award-winner Natalie Portman (Black Swan, Closer). The film is the portrait of one of the most tragic events in American history. It is a piece of collective remembrance. It is also a meticulously crafted tribute to Jacqueline Kennedy. The plot is thin as the movie recounts moments leading to the president’s assassination, the horrifying bloodshed, the direct aftermath, and the First Lady’s fictionalized interview with an unnamed reporter played by Billy Crudup (Almost Famous, Watchmen). This interview functions as the framing device of the film, and Larraín uses it to examine Mrs. Kennedy’s place in history and how her figure is perceived by the American people. Historically well-recorded events and precise circumstances gave the foundation for the story. Yet both the script and the directorial approach take the courage to fill in the gaps with much creativity and some work of fiction. They do it right. “I wouldn’t even call this a biopic, I would just say that it’s an approach to one of the most interesting women of the 21st century,” Larraín said in an interview with Variety.

He turns Jackie into a true emotional experience, almost an unbearably heavy and complex one. The director sets out to explore the humility that underlined the First Lady’s public image as well as a period of profound crisis that pushed her life into a radically new direction. Jackie is a story of exploration, the exploration of the experiences a person went through, and most importantly, the many emotions that shaped and reshaped her. The film is almost like a crossover between psychological horror and European art film. It is shot with simplicity, framed with immaculate precision, performance heavy, and invites us into the protagonist’s emotional head-space. Larraín melds archival and new footage, re-enacts a 1962 network television special (A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy). Stéphane Fontaine’s (Rust and Bone) elegant camerawork and many close-ups bring us not into the world but the inner life of this almost mythical character.

Spencer (2021)

     Neon Topic Studios

Spencer’s official synopsis reads, “Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart) is at odds with the Royal Family. They want her to keep up appearances as her duty as a member of the family. However, Diana wants to expose her quirky and unique personality to all, even the media. When she travels to Sandringham House to spend the Christmas holidays with her husband, Prince Charles (Jack Farthing), and the rest of his family, including their sons William and Harry, she arrives late, having decided to drive herself rather than have a security team. When she’s brought designer outfits to change into several times per day, she balks at having to wear them and will only cooperate with her favorite staff member, Maggie (Sally Hawkins). When Maggie is sent away, Diana begins to have hallucinations. She struggles as her young sons beg her to be normal and not disrupt the holiday.”

Spencer is a movie of beauty, mystery, and a woman deep in pain and isolation. The British Royal Family has always upheld an identity that is far from what Diana, Princess of Wales, had. She was all about human connection. Yet throughout Larraín’s metaphor-heavy movie, Diana’s solitude is visible on her skin.

A big part of the film is also about motherhood, the definition of being a mother, the complexity of that role. Diana goes through a difficult transition, her identity changes, her life shifts into an unforeseen and eventually tragic direction. Beautiful, faded photograph-esque visuals by Claire Mathon (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) evoke the atmosphere of the ‘90s with much authenticity. The mixing of jazz and baroque music provides an exciting contrast between Diana’s inner and outer life. Again, Larraín decides to go as close as possible to the protagonist. The many close-ups allow us to see behind the famous face as much as possible.

Atmosphere and Emotions Over Narrative

Jackie had a budget of $9 million, while Spencer had $18 million. Both modest compared to the standards of Hollywood and outrageously huge for European art house pieces. Larraín has not abandoned his experimental nature as an artist. Yet, he has learned and has been “taught” by such producers as Darren Aronofsky (Jackie, The Fighter) how to invite a wider audience into his unique world. However, still to this day, he paints his portraits of multi-layered characters by focusing on atmosphere, the inner struggle they go through, the palette of feelings they feel. We enter their stories in a period of crisis and explore their psyches and re-shaping identities through mosaics of their lives.

Both Jacqueline Kennedy and Diana Spencer were women coping with pain, traumas, inner and outer conflicts that are expressed, most powerfully, through non-verbal scenes and small details by Larraín. Intensely committed performances by Natalie Portman and Kristen Stewart are also tools of much vitality in the filmmaker’s toolbox. He lets us see the world through the lens of his magnetic protagonists, wounded yet powerful women thriving to heal, redefine themselves and rebuild their bridges to people. Larraín makes us wonder how an everyday person turns into an unfading myth.