Christine

Christine (2016/I) was directed by Antonio Campos. Rebecca Hall plays Christine Chubbuck, a TV reporter in Sarasota, Florida. This is a fictionalized biography of Ms. Chubbuck. If you check Wikipedia, you'll know that much of what we see actually happened.

Christine Chubbuck was a person with depression, or possibly bipolar illness. She was well educated and financially comfortable, but her interpersonal life was in shambles. In the film, her behavior was strange and sometimes bizarre. People keep asking her, "Are you OK?" She always assures them that she's OK, and they believe her. Even if they don't fully believe her, they have their own problems, and they move on to other matters.

Rebecca Hall is an excellent actor. She resembles Christine Chubbuck physically. (That's probably one of the reasons she got the part.) She makes us believe in Christine and her problems, which is no easy task. (People who don't have mental illness find it hard to fake.)

This is a difficult movie to watch, but I felt that the acting was strong, and the message was important. I wish the producers had rolled a statement before the credits saying, "If you, or someone you know, feels and acts like Christine, call this hotline."

We saw the movie at the excellent Little Theatre in Rochester NY. It will work very well on the small screen.

Most people who have ever heard of Christine Chubbuck already know how her story ends; She's been attributed to glimpsing into the future of television journalism with her final statement, the story turning into a morbid urban legend in the over forty years since the incident occurred. I admit, the first time I heard the story almost ten years ago, it sounded so bizarre, I almost couldn't believe it.

Christine sets out to humanize Christine Chubbuck, and elicit empathy from an audience that might already see her as someone who is monstrous. Yet, somehow, the movie accomplishes it's goal, giving her humanity that was lost in the headlines. Much of that credit is due to Rebecca Hall who transformed herself completely, throwing herself into the role so thoroughly that it's almost frightening.

The first time we see Christine she is filming herself doing a mock interview, and then later on, we see Christine examining every little gesture, picking herself apart in order to remake herself into something better to gain that elusive feeling of perfection, yet no matter how many times she's assured by Jean Reed (Maria Dizzia), the only person at WZRB that could probably be considered a friend, there's still that look of dissatisfaction with herself etched on her face.

It's been written that Christine Chubbuck used to give puppet shows to mentally challenged children so the screenwriter incorporated that into the film, but it's utilized as little glimpses of what she's thinking: 'Be Bold, Be Brave' she tells them, a fairly innocuous phrase, but for the viewer who knows what's to come later on, it has chilling connotations.

The moment that made Christine Chubbuck famous is shown in all of it's brutal and devastating impact. The film even shows her mother watching as it all unfolds. I don't know if Christine Chubbuck's mother, Peg, was actually watching the day Christine did what she did, but the possibility of that actually occurring, is heartbreaking.

It's a testament to the filmmakers that, though Christine can often come across as incredibly difficult and unlikable, the audience still has a great deal of empathy for her. Yes, she has fights with her boss about 'blood and guts' television, and her mother about the state of her life, but it's carefully contrasted with moments of quiet desperation, like the sequence when the head news anchor, George (Michael C. Hall), takes her to a transactional analysis meeting where they play a game of 'Yes, but…" and Christine slowly reveals the things that she feels make her life impossible to live.

Overall, Christine is a portrait of a woman desperately trying to make something of herself but because of a chemical imbalance, she can't seem to sync with the people and world around her. Anchored by Rebecca Hall who gives an Oscar-worthy turn, Christine is also supported by an excellent supporting cast (Maria Dizzia and J. Smith Cameron in particular), strong direction and an incisive script. Highly recommended.

I'm going to write this review as if you had not heard the sensational and tragic story of Christine Chubbuck. If you are unfamiliar with Christine's story then I suggest you do not read into it before seeing this film. I shall reveal very little of it here.

The story concerns the real life story of Christine Chubbuck, a reporter in Florida in the 1970s. As an opportunity opens up at a bigger news station, Christine finds herself attempting to adopt the station manager's sensationalist approach to the news. The film details her struggle with depression and it's impact on her personal life and work.

The depression is seen as both the result and cause of Christine 's difficulty in connecting with others. Many characters throughout the film reach out to her only for her to pull away. The cyclical nature of depression is all too familiar but what's interesting here is that each character who reaches out to Christine is well meaning but insist on viewing her depression in their own way instead of actually speaking with Christine.

At one point Christine screams "why is no one listening to me?!" and it's true. No one listens to Christine. Her mother is certain that she just needs a man. The anchor on her news show is certain she just needs therapy. Her friend at the station is certain that she just needs ice cream. Everyone is so quick to offer possible remedies and solutions that Christine is actually overlooked.

This is exemplified in the "Yes, but" game as seen in the trailer for the film. In the game the speaker tells the listener their problems. The listener then suggests a solution to which the speaker replies "yes, but" and points out the issues with that solution. The idea may be to get to the heart of the speaker's problems or for them to simply run out of problems and start thinking about solutions but the effect is clear. The issues and concerns of the speaker are being dismissed, one by one. Often with just a few words.

This portrayal of the isolating effects of depression is very affecting. We see Christine attempt to bury herself in work, buying a radio scanner to listen in on police frequencies in an attempt to find the gruesome story she needs to gain recognition. As we see her hunched over her notepad listening to two police officers brag about sexual conquests, we can see the cracks starting to appear.

The entire film hinges on Rebecca Hall's ability to play a character who is simultaneously spiralling out of control and deeply sympathetic and fortunately she accomplishes this extremely well. She is magnetic to watch even as she shrinks into the backgrounds of the scenes in which Christine finds herself. Her awkwardness and frustration are told through tiny movements and gestures.

The film takes some liberties with the real life of Christine Chubbuck. Some people on her life have been omitted and some incidents have been made to occur later than they actually did for dramatic effect. However if you walk into this film without knowing how Christine's story ended then I am sure you will be as shocked as the world was back in 1975 and hopefully you will reflect on how you personally react to depression, in yourself and others. If you're anything like me you will emerge from the cinema desperate to know more about this enigmatic and tragic young woman.

The film is a very tense and uncomfortable slow burn with some surprisingly funny moments. Performances are excellent all round but this really is Hall's show and is an excellent showcase for her talents as a screen presence.

If it bleeds, it leads. In response to such sentiment, reporter Christine Chubbuck committed suicide on live television on July 15, 1974, in Sarasota, Florida. This thoughtful, emotional and compelling film delves into Christine's character and likely motivations for taking her life just shy of her 30th birthday. Dreams of success in both her professional and personal life turned into a series of disappointments and troubles. Assigned to cover dull stories and turned down for promotions by the good ole boys club at her workplace that favored looser women, Christine also had health and family woes and a patronizing love interest. Awkward, often unapproachable and introverted, Christine was also intelligent, amiable, creative and kindhearted. She volunteered at a children's shelter where she presented short plays with puppets named Tangerine and Dragon. Her news ideas seemed brilliant and promising if they were just given the opportunity to succeed, yet none of this mattered in the network's drive for "juicier" and cheaper stories.

In this true story the ending is already known, yet the film is still suspenseful and fascinating. What is remarkable is that attitudes regarding the sensationalism of the news and the treatment of depression have not changed much since the 1970s. You'd think we might have learned something from this story if not from our own experiences since then. The story reminds us to "get to know the people around us," said the script writer after the showing at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival. Rebecca Hall is incredible in her portrayal of Christine. Christine's death is not overly dramatized. I liked the soundtrack that included a John Denver song.

I hadn't really read anything about the plot of the film. I only heard the praise for Hall and so I decided to give it a go. A few minutes in and I realized what real-life event it was going to be about and it really soured my mood. It's just not a fun film to watch at all. I've read so much about the real life person that the whole thing was just a very depressing experience. It's hard for me o accurately judge the film as a whole but I can say that Rebecca Hall is devastatingly effective here. There are no false notes in her performance at all and I am tempted to say that it is one of the finest portrayals of depression I have ever seen in a film. She makes you absolutely feel her pain and her sorrow and it all becomes so powerful that it makes the whole thing even more grim. She should be getting all of the award nominations possible and the fact that she has flown so under the radar is absolutely criminal.