The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

2007 drama

Rating: 17/20

Plot: Based on the true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby who, after suffering a stroke at the age of 42, is unable to speak or move anything but his left eyeball. But he gets to spend lots of time with attractive women and writes a book, so it's all good.

I thought this movie was profoundly moving although I suspect I've been tricked by filmmaker Julian Schnabel by his use of tricky trickery. The music, the experimental camera stuff, a draining script. The whole thing screams, "I'm trying to win awards here!" While watching this, I kept thinking that there was an overwhelming amount of out-of-focus, swirling and discombobulating imagery at the beginning and far too many scenes of the therapist reciting her rearranged alphabet in the second half. However, the quantity of both of those were important, the former because it so effectively helps you to empathize with the protagonist's experience and the latter because it so effectively shows how tedious and painful the communication process had to have been. The effects are nearly overwhelming as Schnabel almost bombards you with this guy's condition. And when you finally get to see actor Mathieu Almaric's portrayal of post-stroke Jean-Do (deep into the movie), it's shocking, especially as it contrasts to the Jean-Do's lifestyle pre-stroke that we see in flashbacks and half-memories. Really, it's only Almaric's eye that is doing any acting here, but it's startling simple performance. This movie really doesn't have much acting in it at all, the story told more with the camera and style than through anything the performers are doing. It reminded me of Clean Shaven, a movie somewhere on this blog, and like that one, parts were tough to watch.

Another happy Cory recommendation.