Christine (2016)- BFI London Film Festival 2016

115min

Genre:       Fact-based, Drama

Director:    Antonio Campos

Cast:         Rebecca Hall, Tracy Letts, Michael C. Hall…and more

Writer:      Craig Shilowich

-Synopsis-

Rebecca Hall stars in a biographical drama about the final days of Christine Chubbuck; a Florida local news reporter whose psychological issues and personality traits conspired with a deep-seated resentment about her work, driving her to commit suicide on live television in 1974, one month shy of her thirtieth birthday.

Judging from his short career thus far, director Antonio Campos seems to gravitate towards dark dramas involving tragic deaths, and filmed ones at that; and with the notorious media story revolving Chubbuck and her perturbing demise, Campos gets the chance to tell a tragic tale while trying to unravel a complex and troubled psyche, all within the context of a changing media landscape with echoes of what we’ve sadly become used to.

After a decade of impressive supporting performances as both Brits and Americans, Hall stars as the titular character in a tour-de-force performance; painting a psychological portrait of Chubbuck as a dour, self-deprecating and difficult personality, driven and talented but prone to deep depression and unable to form meaningful relationships. A complex and emotionally troubled person who could have been anyone you might meet on any given day, but just happened to achieve notoriety through who she was and what she eventually did.

Hall is supported by an ensemble cast featuring the likes of Michael C. Hall as the Sarasota TV station’s lead anchor George Peter Ryan, with whom Chubbuck had an infatuation which might have contributed to her suicide, as well as a cast of established indie actors led by Tracy Letts as “Mike” the station manager, with Letts once again delighting us by displaying his mastery of commanding and amusingly blunt characters.

‘Christine’ actually starts off like an off-kilter newsroom comedy/drama, with some distinctly light moments of awkward black humour, often expertly delivered by Tracy Letts; but the mood begins to turn as old demons re-surface and combine with new ones for the eponymous lady, quickly turning the film into a dark character drama made all the more unsettling by the knowledge of how it all ends.

The context of the film is however also one of its core themes, framed as one of the factors which contributed to the subject’s psychological decline; Campos and screenwriter Craig Shilowich make certain to depict Chubbuck’s inner and outer struggle between her journalistic integrity and the changing demands of a station and industry moving towards sensationalism, chasing ratings at the expense of public service and epitomised by a manager quoting the “if it bleeds, it leads” line as a mantra.

The sad irony being that when compared to today’s sensationalist news, reality TV and clickbait online headlines, the “puff-pieces” of the 1970s might look like Pulitzer Prize material. Nevertheless the struggle between journalistic integrity and ratings (and ultimately profit) is a core theme of the film; placing it in the pantheon of newsroom dramas like Paddy Chayefsky’s ‘Network’, which allegedly was influenced by the Chubbuck tragedy, to more recent fare like last year’s ‘Truth’.

The mere fact that a dramatisation of this story was even made is controversial enough, with some already criticising the filmmakers for exploiting the tragedy and doing exactly what Chubbuck rallied against. But for us this is unfair and unfounded, the film feels and plays like genuine attempt at portraying a troubled psyche that ended in tragedy, and does so with style and a deliberately sympathetic tone.

The lack of context regarding Chubbuck’s past may also be an issue, the narrative picks up in the last weeks and months of her life and only hints at her long-standing depression and the family issues which shaped her personality, thereby perhaps robbing us of a more developed motive and lead-in to her suicide.

And depending on your perspective, the impression you get of her as a person and her final act may vary; was it a desperate cry for help or a last stand for someone who saw no other path?, or was is a selfish and vindictive act designed to punish those she couldn’t budge and a system she couldn’t change?, or both? We’ll leave it for you to decide, but the mere fact that ‘Christine’ got us to contemplate those possibilities makes it a captivating drama and a tragic character study that’s well worth your time.

The Bottom Line…

Supported by a solid cast on good form, Rebecca Hall delivers an award-worthy performance fleshing out the complex personality of a troubled but promising individual with an ultimately tragic life; Antonio Campos puts together a captivating newsroom drama and troubling character piece within the context of a media landscape which resonates today, a controversial film in its very nature but a worthwhile one for sure.

‘Christine’ is out on the 14th of October 2016 in the US and the 27th of January 2017 in the UK.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Network (1976)

An enraged soon-to-be fired veteran news anchor unleashes a tirade against his network and the state of news media, only to find that the suits upstairs have decided to exploit the freakshow for ratings in this classic black comedy satire about the corporatization of the news and media in America.

Directed by Paddy Chayefsky  and starring Faye Dunaway, William Holden and Peter Finch among others.

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