Christine (2016)

I have to start by saying that all the negative reviews calling the film "boring," "too slow," or "uninteresting" must have been submitted by people who have not experienced this kind of mental illness first hand. I have, and the way this story was told hit the nail on the head. This film may be uncomfortable for some to watch due to the subject matter, but the slow, grinding, gutwrenching nature of depression was beautifully captured in Christine. If you've ever been to that dark place of desparation, then you'll appreciate this film. I already knew how the story was going to end, which made it even harder to watch at times, especially since I knew it was based on the true story of Christine Chubbuck, the news anchor who shot herself in the head on live television. Watching Christine teeter back and forth between the hope of bettering her circumstances, and the painful descent back down brought me to tears at times. One scene that really caught me was at around three-quarters into the movie. In the middle of conducting an interview, she has a temporary mental breakdown. She calmly tells the interviewee that they will continue the interview at a later date, and leaves the room. She runs into the bathroom and cracks, bursting into a tormented sob session. The moment her friend runs in and asks if she's okay, Christine instantaneously straightens herself up and says she's fine. A moment like that is even more haunting knowing that eventually, Christine will later take her own life with the cameras rolling, and all aimed at her.

I never knew anything about the true story of Christine Chubbuck when I saw this biopic detailing the last year of her life. Needless to say, this fact gave the film an extra impact, as the ending comes as quite a jolt. Chubbuck was a television journalist who worked for a local news channel in Florida. She became nationally famous when she committed suicide live on air during a news broadcast in 1974. She was a troubled individual who was frustrated with her trivial work assignments and also had difficulties in forming relationships with men. The former issue is exacerbated by the fact that the news programme she is part of has failing ratings and so her manager aims to cover more sensationalist material with the motto 'if it bleeds, it leads'. This leaves Chubbuck's human-interest stories marginalised to the point of irrelevance. While her relationship issues stem from the fact that Christine is a genuine oddball who seems to have some social condition, which renders her both forthright and awkward in one-to-one conversations. She only really seems at home when she is on the television.I found this to be a very involving drama which brought me very much to mind of The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004) which was another early 70's period piece that focused on another social misfit who ended up making the news for a notorious incident. Both films share a downbeat tone and both sport fantastic performances in their central roles. In Christine it is Rebecca Hall who immerses herself in the persona of Christine, it really is a very good example of proper acting with Hall tackling a complex character to perfection. Despite her spiky nature I really did care about this woman and that is a large testament to Hall's skills. The other main element in which I got a kick out of was the recreation of the early 70's in all of its beige glory. It was beautifully done and helped considerably in setting the tone of events which follow. Ultimately, I found this true story to be one well worth knowing about and the film did a good job of capturing and presenting it.

It's 1973 Sarasota, Florida. Christine Chubbuck (Rebecca Hall) is a struggling TV news reporter doing humanist stories. Watergate is heating up and she is high-minded about reporting. George (Michael C. Hall) is the handsome anchor. Camerawoman Jean is her best friend. Station manager Michael tells them that the station is failing and pushes, "If it bleeds, it leads." Christine's doctor has a dire diagnosis. Station owner Bob Andersen has purchased another news station in big market Baltimore and is looking take along one reporter. Pressure mounts as she does something shocking on live TV.This movie is based on true events as it tells the audience in the opening credits. It's hampered by a story that climaxes in one big moment after two meandering hours. There are lots of interesting sign posts to detour from the path but the story never goes down those roads. There's a great creepy gun guy but he's an one-off. There's a truncated affair that never starts. We're left with an intriguing performance from Rebecca Hall of a tightly wound woman but it is mostly internal. It's two hours of frustrating powerlessness as we watch a woman drowning in her own mind. That could be compelling but somehow, this is unsatisfying.

Christine (no relation to the Stephen King Christine) is an uncomfortable watch.There's nothing grisly, seedy or terrifying but Antonio Campos's film presents such a realistic and unquestionably bleak portrait of a rapidly deteriorating human being, brought down to her lowest ebb through unrealistic expectations and dreams, that it makes for eye squinting and tough viewing, in this retelling of real life news reporter/journalist Christine Chubbuck.There may be many that know of Chubbuck's story but for the sake of those that don't, Campos's film delves into the final months of Chubbuck's life as her fractured ego and increasingly erratic behaviour towards her work, co-workers such as Maria Dizzia's good hearted colleague Jean, Tracy Lett's tough station boss Michael or Michael C. Hall's potential love interest and news anchor George and genuine everyday life threatens to implode at any moment and when that moment comes, it ends up being one of the most shocking and sad moments in television history.Chubbuck isn't at all an easy person to relate or warm to. She's quick to wrath, stubborn beyond reasoning, cold and self-centred but she's also clearly a person that wasn't in a sane state of mind and nailing this tricky business is Rebecca Hall who delivers a career best turn as the doomed figure.A for some reason long-standing member of Hollywood's underrated field, Hall has over a number of years performed strongly in a large collection of big budgeted and smaller scale pictures but Chubbuck gives her a chance to really show her acting chops.In almost every frame of the film, Hall is never less than captivating, even though Chubbuck is herself equally frustrating and it's likely had this film gained more traction in the mainstream media, Hall would've been a worthy player in awards season attention.From big moments through to small subtle character traits Hall embodies this lost soul and is the best thing about the sometimes monotonously paced film and she's that good that many of the films side characters including those played by Michael C. Hall and Dizzia feel a little underwhelming, with Michael C. Hall in particular once again finding himself in a role that is below his range and it feels as though the highs of early Dexter are still a ways off from being recaptured in feature length roles.Final Say – Capturing the time and place of early 1970's America well, Christine is a solid if unremarkable drama that's filled to overflowing with foreboding, bleakness and disappointment, making it not for everyone but harbouring a noteworthy performance from Rebecca Hall. Christine is a tough slog but one that's worth tuning in for.3 hand puppet shows out of 5