I have seen Rebecca Hall in a few films now, and she is quite versatile.  Even so, I never thought I would see her do a puppet show.  Yet here she is, a puppet on each hand, framed by a crude mock-up of a television, doing a “stranger danger” bit for the benefit of hospitalized children. 

The cardboard TV is a good metaphor, as Hall plays a TV reporter for a Florida TV station in the 70s.  This is a biopic, and not a work of pure fiction, and there is a good reason for the focus on television in this movie. 

Before I get to the big spoiler, I’ll say a few things about Christine Chubbock, as portrayed here by Hall.  Hall fully immerses herself in a characterization that makes it easier to understand a person who appeared to be very difficult to know.  From her frequent tirades and outbursts, I doubt I would have wanted to know her.  But I also see some of myself her awkwardness—something I may naively hope I show less of nowadays.

The majority of the picture has Chubbock surrounded by her concerned mother (who lives with her) and co-workers she keeps at arm’s length.  She does have a contentious relationship with the station manager, but even he largely seems to at least try to understand her.

If there is a weak aspect of the movie, it is the dialogue takes some shortcuts—some simplified statements to compactly relay some themes.  An example of this that stands out in my mind is when the station manager yells at Chubbock, saying her problem is she’s a feminist.  While I can imagine such a person saying such a thing, something rang false about it.  It was too concise, too pat.

…and now we come to something I don’t think can be avoided…

DO NOT READ PAST THIS THIS POINT IF YOU DON’T WANT THE ENDING OF THE MOVIE SPOILED

NO, REALLY, ABANDON ALL HOPE OF NOT KNOWING THE ENDING, THOSE WHO ENTER HERE

WOW, YOU REALLY CAN’T TAKE A HINT, CAN YOU?

THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING

So, you may be wondering why anybody would want to watch the true story of a reporter for a small TV station.  That is because Christine Chubbuck is the first person to commit suicide on the air.

Not much happens in the film after this. It is definitely the finale.  Knowing in advance what Chubbock was going to do, I was worried the movie would be exploitive.  I was pleased the movie didn’t take that route, but there still is something morbid about watching a biopic of a person whose suicide is the only thing the general public would ever know about them.

Dir: Antonio Campos

Starring Rebecca Hall, Michael C. Hall

Watched on Kanopy