I remember watching a documentary on YouTube by EmpLemon (which you should all watch, btw) talking about the life and career of the NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, leading up to his tragic death in 2001 during the Daytona 500. And one line that really stuck out to me in that video was when Emp said something along these lines:
"...however, most people will never know about Dale, as most people will just know him as some guy who died. They'll never know about the struggle, the trials, the frustation, and the victory"
And this exact sentiment is why i was very interested in watching this film, and it is why i personally feel this film is great. Rebecca Hall plays Christine Chubbuck, a shy but ambitious news reporter in the 70's that has a lot problems i her life, mostly with struggles in the news world and her struggles in the "love" world, which prompt her to be very reclusive and feeling very lonely and depresed.
I'm putting the spoilers flair in this review so as to go in line with IMDb's rules, but to be honest, spoilers are not exactly something that the film can escape. Most, if not all who watch this movie, knows what happens at the end of it. In fact, it is probably the "draw in" of the film for many people. Christine is known as "the first person to have committed suicide on live television", aka, "some girl who died". So the film has a challenge: How can you make an audience care for a character that they all know will die by the end?
The film has a unique look to it, not only because it taking place in the 70's, but also by it's intentional use of color and tone, to mimic how television actually looked at that time. The soundtrack, while not something super unique or special, is fairly well put together and sounds nice, although i would have liked if some scenes better without it's use. Also the use of existing music is great too, as the constant "love songs" add to the tragedy of Chris's lonelyness. And while the film is not really a "technical marvel" or anything, it does feel like a professional and well crafted movie with a story to tell. I'm also suprised at Craig Shilowich (this is his first and, as of 2020, only writing credit, as he's mostly a producer), who did a pretty good job, although some characters feel kind of silly (i'll give them the benefit of the doubt of them being characters in the 70's), and i while the "suicide scene" was well handled and effective, i feel like 10 minutes more of the characters dealing with this tragedy would have helped a lot with the impact of the film, although i do like the final scene with Jean. All of the acting is great but of course the real meat of the film is found on Rebecca Hall, who's the star of the film and a for good reason. She is absolutely incredible, being able to pull of both emotional fragility and the exact oposite. And yes, she totally snubbed by the Academy. Her anxiety drives the film to be a tense and sad experience, obviously building up to a disturbing climax.
Antonio Campos and company have made a great drama that is respectful to Chubbuck's memory while also giving a realistic take on depression and how it slowly affects people's lives until it's too late. This is certainly an overlooked gem of 2016, and definitely a must see of that year.
And this exact sentiment is why i was very interested in watching this film, and it is why i personally feel this film is great. Rebecca Hall plays Christine Chubbuck, a shy but ambitious news reporter in the 70's that has a lot problems i her life, mostly with struggles in the news world and her struggles in the "love" world, which prompt her to be very reclusive and feeling very lonely and depresed.
I'm putting the spoilers flair in this review so as to go in line with IMDb's rules, but to be honest, spoilers are not exactly something that the film can escape. Most, if not all who watch this movie, knows what happens at the end of it. In fact, it is probably the "draw in" of the film for many people. Christine is known as "the first person to have committed suicide on live television", aka, "some girl who died". So the film has a challenge: How can you make an audience care for a character that they all know will die by the end?
The film has a unique look to it, not only because it taking place in the 70's, but also by it's intentional use of color and tone, to mimic how television actually looked at that time. The soundtrack, while not something super unique or special, is fairly well put together and sounds nice, although i would have liked if some scenes better without it's use. Also the use of existing music is great too, as the constant "love songs" add to the tragedy of Chris's lonelyness. And while the film is not really a "technical marvel" or anything, it does feel like a professional and well crafted movie with a story to tell. I'm also suprised at Craig Shilowich (this is his first and, as of 2020, only writing credit, as he's mostly a producer), who did a pretty good job, although some characters feel kind of silly (i'll give them the benefit of the doubt of them being characters in the 70's), and i while the "suicide scene" was well handled and effective, i feel like 10 minutes more of the characters dealing with this tragedy would have helped a lot with the impact of the film, although i do like the final scene with Jean. All of the acting is great but of course the real meat of the film is found on Rebecca Hall, who's the star of the film and a for good reason. She is absolutely incredible, being able to pull of both emotional fragility and the exact oposite. And yes, she totally snubbed by the Academy. Her anxiety drives the film to be a tense and sad experience, obviously building up to a disturbing climax.
Antonio Campos and company have made a great drama that is respectful to Chubbuck's memory while also giving a realistic take on depression and how it slowly affects people's lives until it's too late. This is certainly an overlooked gem of 2016, and definitely a must see of that year.