The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Director: Julian Schnabel
Year: 2007
My Rating: ***

What an incredible film! I was somewhat surprised to find that it is more linear than the preview makes it out to be, but the content is still pretty amazing. It tells the story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the ex-editor of French Elle who was entirely paralyzed and robbed of speech by a stroke, but left with a fully-functioning mind, imagination, and memory; the title comes from his comparison of this condition (called “Locked-In Syndrome”) to being stuck in one of those old diving suits while retaining ones mental agility, artistically likened to the flitting path of a butterfly. The film focuses mostly on his life after the stroke, as it was during this time that he painstakingly dictated his memoir, letter by letter, by blinking his left eye.

Schnabel alternates between shots from Bauby’s point of view and a regular omniscient camera view to great effect. I was particularly impressed with this play of camera angles and focusing techniques, which give us a clear picture of his paralytic condition but don’t bludgeon us with its claustrophobic nature to the point of viewer alienation. Despite the story’s inherent tale of perseverance and inner strength, it never once strays into Hallmark channel territory; we rather see his varied emotional reactions in an honest, unaffected way that preserves the integrity of his words.

What strikes me, bittersweetly, is the “luck” of having an artistically-minded, eloquent person in this situation, able and interested in so expressively communicating his condition; if it were “Joe Six Pack” or “Suzy Cream Cheese” (my father’s naming constructs), such a reflective and introspective piece of art might never have come to fruition.

Max von Sydow reduced me to streaming tears in his scenes as Bauby’s “Papinou,” and the parade of breathtakingly beautiful women sent my father into well-deserved raptures. IMDb says Johnny Depp was slated to play Jean-Do, but I rather think Mathieu Amalric’s wide-eyed, boyish air is better suited for the leading role.

If you’re in a pensive mood and have some extra tissues on hand, I highly recommend this film. It deals with a heavy subject matter, but is well directed and acted and a beautiful piece of work.

Gold. Glob. '08

Taking note of my duly abbreviated title (in light of the similarly abbreviated ceremony), here are my thoughts on the Golden Globes that I care about and to which you are therefore to be subjected:

Best Picture - Drama - Atonement
Due to a tie between supposedly excellent movies, 7 films were nominated this year instead of 5, which I think was excessive. There have been some erroneous winners in past years, and that's only out of the normal amount of nominees, making me think that we need to revisit our guidelines about what makes a great film worth Nomming in the first place. Regardless of my feelings about its companions in the category, however, I do agree with this win -- Atonement was buzzed about like no other and rightly so, pairing a great story with solid acting, great cinematography, a wrenching score, and insightful direction.

Actress - Drama - Julie Christie in Away From Her
Didn't see this one. Alzheimers hits a little too close to home. However, I sure as hell didn't support the possibility of it going to Keira Knightley (although she was tolerably less toothy this year), and Julie Christie fits in my category of "Women I would love to look as good as at a similar age." So fine.

Actor - Drama - Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood
It's next on my list -- however, just the preview leaves me in my typical DD-L state, which generally involves fanning my face and thinking "Damn he's good." If a 4 minute preview can do that to me, I'm ready to support this win for the full-length feature.

Best Picture - Musical or Comedy - Sweeney Todd
Tough category for me. I'm tempted to throw my lot in with fellow Nom Across the Universe, but as those of you who read my review will know, my experience of that film was a bit too varied. Juno is similarly tempting to reward, but I feel that perhaps just the writing deserves the credit because the film as a whole wasn't utterly, staggeringly spectacular. I have to say , I'm kind of sad that more screwball comedies that rocked the box office (like Knocked Up and Superbad) weren't Nommed. They might have given Sweeney a legitimate run for his money.

Actress - Musical or Comedy - Marion Cotillard in La Vie En Rose
Well, Ms. Cotillard sure as hell looked like French chanteuse Edith Piaf, the eyebrow-less wonder. In this case, I'm happy to see it go to her, as the Nomination alone is enough for the likes of Amy Adams and Ellen Page, both of whom were fantastic but clearly have long and illustrious careers ahead of them.

Actor - Musical or Comedy - Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd
Ryan Gosling! Ryan Gosling! Ryan Gosling! I discussed in my Sweeney review how I feel that Depp didn't actually give Mr. Todd enough depth -- I feel this win is more of a cumulative win, based around his career leading up to this and the fact that he's playing yet another off-beat character and taking a chance on singing. I'd have much preferred to see this go to Gosling, whose character acting is much more varied and nuanced than Depp's (much as I love him), who often is reminiscent of himself. (It could have been called Sweeney Sparrow, for all the similarities between the two eery characters...) That said, I'm glad to see Depp win something -- he has been fruitlessly Nommed a lot recently, and he is fantastic, so fine. Whatever. I'd just like to see it go to Ryan sometime soon, ok folks?

Supporting Actress - Cate Blanchett in I'm Not There
Apparently at the ceremony Billy Bush said "Ultimately, isn't she just imitating a man?" (Reason # 687,289 why I hate the Bush clan.) Screw you, Billy Bush. Cate is more of a man than you'll ever be. Props to Saoirse Ronan for her excellent rendering of the evil little Briony, but she's 14 or something, with more Noms sure to come. Therefore, I give it to the great Cate.

Supporting Actor - Javier Bardem in No Country For Old Men
I mean, yeah. He'll F you up. (As a side note, in addition to epitomizing the term Badass, anyone willing to wear that hairstyle for all of filming deserves the freaking statue.)

Animated - Ratatouille
Not my favorite Pixar creation, but this fun kitchen jaunt sure as hell had to beat Bee Movie, which I was never even remotely tempted to see. I mean, what's the deal with the animated Renee Zellweger having a normal lookin' face? Bee serious.

Director - Julian Schnabel for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Haven't seen it yet. My support goes to Joe Wright for his framing, pacing, juxtaposition of shots, and the way he captured the elusive, claustrophobically seething beginning of Atonement. As discussed in my review, it made my heart race and elicited many audible reactions from my fellow audience members -- always a sign of being engaged.

Screenplay - No Country For Old Men
Quotable lines, introspective moments, undefined ending, Hell, undefined everything -- I support this win. A close second in my book was Juno, but perhaps the nomination is enough. And really, anyone named Diablo is sure to be back for more, with a vengeance.

Score - Atonement
AMEN. Not since Notes on a Scandal has the score of a movie fit so perfectly, in my opinion. The music was noticeable when it needed to be and a subtle backdrop elsewhere, driving the action forward in parts and deliciously marinating in other moments -- also known as a Great Movie Score.

Song - "Guaranteed" by Eddie Vedder from Into the Wild
Glad to see a nom went to "That's How You Know" from Enchanted, but ultimately I support this win (a) because it gets this film onto the winners list and (b) because Vedder's creations really were great.

For more of my thoughts on the "ceremony," venture forth into Blogdom.