Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival January 23,2016
Warning: The review may sound depressing.
Plot(Spoiler Alert)
1974, Sarasota, Florida, Christine Chubbuck is a news reporter who is good at her job, but she also struggles from a few mental health issues. She wants to make it to the top and she does her best to work her way up, but her best isn’t good enough.
Blaine: The role of Christine was offered to Rebecca Hall, who had never heard of Christine Chubbuck before. She received a copy of the script from her agent, with a note informing her the story might sound horrible and Rebecca Hall got angry because of that. Rebecca asked herself why a screenwriter and a director, who are males, would want to make something like this. Rebecca Hall read through the script and she felt it described what people feel in life, like pressure from work, being depressed and not admitting what’s going through your mind. Director Antonio Campos is a sensitive guy and film is his way of expressing that. He felt sorry for Christine and her story really got to him. Rebecca Hall was moved by that. Rebecca Hall felt she had a huge responsibility in honoring Christine. Rebecca Hall was given fifteen minutes of footage of Christine because that’s all there was. The footage was a little bit of help. What was more helpful was the script because it described the type of person Christine was. Through her performance, Rebecca Hall makes it look like Christine is someone who pressures herself and is desperate.
Christine was always after a story and she worked her butt off to get it. And the look on her eyes show she is depressed. Rebecca Hall felt something for Christine as they were shooting the film.
Christine Chubbuck was popular for the work she did on the news, but she wanted to go to the next level and make it big. Christine was a workaholic. Doing the news is everything to Christine and she has her own way of doing things, but it’s not good enough for a big news stations. She wanted a promotion, but it required her to do things differently from what she is use to. The view ratings were important for the station Christine worked at and the stories she went for, that interested her, were not good enough to make the ratings higher. Other than that, Christine couldn’t have a baby. She had to have an ovary removed and she has to have it done soon. The surgery would cause her not to have children. Christine feels fate isn’t being too kind to her because things aren’t going the way she wants them to be.
Christine had a hard time noticing that people actually cared for her. Connecting with people wasn’t easy for her. There are times she wants to interact with others, but it won’t be the right time for them and when they want to interact, Christine has her mind on work.
Christine worked close with the camera girl, Jean Reed, played by Maria Dizzia. Jean was always there with Christine behind the camera. Gene offered to take away the pain Christine was feeling by taking her somewhere, after Christine learned she couldn’t have children. Christine never told Gene what was troubling her.
Most adults still live with their parents and one of the things that’s interesting about this is it’s something different. Christine and her mother, Peg, played by J. Smith-Cameron, lived together as roommates. Christine acts like the responsible adult. Peg is responsible too, but she also wants to enjoy life while she’s living and breathing. Peg feels Christine should relax a little and have some fun, like go out on date with a guy. Peg tries to get close to Christine and Christine will be honest on what’s bothering her at times, but other times she’ll shut her mother out.
A lot of people know Michael C. Hall for playing Dexter Morgan on “Dexter”. Dexter Morgan was the type of person who hardly liked to participate in anything, except for crime scenes and he doesn’t like to socialize. Dexter would pretend he is like everyone else on the outside, but inside he rather be by himself looking for a murderer to kill. Dexter didn’t even know how to fit in. In “Christine” Michael C. Hall plays George, Christine’s co-worker and he represents everything that is the opposite of Dexter Morgan. He socializes and is good with parties. Michael C. Hall’s performance as George shows how good of an actor he is. George was another person wanting to get close to Christine and Christine did have a crush on him. But Christine heard George got the promotion she wanted, things got depressing again for her. Everyone around her was getting the things she was dying to have and she sunk low because of that.
The only time Christine confessed what her troubles were was to a stranger at a self help group she and George attend.
Christine made it look like things were going to get better for her by accepting things the way they are, but they didn’t. Christine felt the best way out was death. Christine took a hand gun and shot herself in the head on live television.
I wasn’t expecting that, but I knew she was planning something bad. I didn’t know anything about Christine then as I do now. It is shocking and upsetting, but it happened. Christine took a bullet to the head because she feels her life will never be happy. I guess what she was thinking about is if she was going to go then she wouldn’t do it without one final report. Christine’s suicide fit in with the report she was giving on blood and guts. I’m impressed with the editing of that scene. In just three seconds, it cuts to a shot of T.V. with Christine shooting herself, then it shows the station, back to the T.V. as she goes down and ends with the mother’s shocking reaction. Christine’s suicide became one of the top five’s most shocking things to happen on television. The people at the station thought Christine was pulling off some sort of prank for one second, but then they discovered it was no joke. It was too much for everyone at the station and her mother after this tragedy happened. Christine was rushed to a hospital and remained alive for fourteen hours after she shot herself in the head. Viewers who saw Christine shoot herself on live television from their homes were concerned and called 9-1-1.
Jean Reed was by Christine’s side as she was on her way to the ambulance because she was the closest thing to a friend Christine ever had and she was the most effected by Christine’s suicide.
Her boss, Michael Nelson, didn’t like Christine’s behavior, but when she took her own life he felt bad. The depressed look on Michael’s face tells me he wishes he let Christine know she meant something to the news station. Michael shouldn’t feel guilty because not getting a promotion wasn’t the only thing that was troubling Christine, it was also not being able to have a child that made her very unhappy.
Christine’s body was cremated and the ashes were scattered into the Gulf of Mexico. A lot of people, including people she worked with, showed up to pay their respects.
The reason I wrote a review on “Christine” is because I understand and feel her pain because I felt it in my youth going from my teen years to early 20s. I’m don’t have mental health issues, but I do have Autism. I can relate to Christine, like both her and I don’t like to celebrate our own birthdays because it’s not our thing. Another thing is I kept things to myself whenever I was depressed. I felt no one understood me and I would shut people out. I felt a connection with this film.
Other than that, I also think “Christine” has a unique style in Independent filmmaking, with Rebecca Hall and the other actors’ performances, the cinematography, the sets, the 1970’s style and the editing. I like the different angles in the cinematography work. And there’s shots of a T.V. It’s a shot within a shot. What was exciting for screenwriter Craig Shilowich and director Antonio Campos was recreating a 1970s news station.
There are some who say why make a film like this. Rebecca Hall felt “Christine” was a film that had to exist so it could show who Christine really was and what she was going through. At the end of “Christine”, Jean Reed, the camera girl Christine worked with, has some ice cream because she told Christine once it helps take away stress or pain whenever she feels it. She has the T.V. on, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” is on and while depressed, Jean sings alone with it. Christine wanted to make it and the lyrics to “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” are “You might just make it after all”. So to me Jean is singing it to honor Christine.
My rating on “Christine” is four and a half out of five stars
