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13/11/2008
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The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
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Based on the true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby who suffered a massive stroke aged just 43 which left his entire body paralysed except his left eye, this moving film opens with his admittance to a seaside hospital and depicts the time he spent there, dictating his memoirs solely by blinking. Understandably, given the subject matter, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a sad film but it also has a certain gallows humour, and obvious warmth and respect for its inspiring subject, who died just days after his book was published.
Julian Schnabel’s masterstroke is to film a great deal of the film as though the audience is Jean-Dominique (Jean-Do to his friends). By hearing his interior monologue and seeing only what our paralysed protagonist can see – the other actors look directly at us, if they move out of shot we cannot turn to look at them, we even have to endure seeing our own eyelid being sewn shut – the director ensures that the audience can empathise with Jean-Do. Keeping our vision restricted for so much of the film also means that the flashbacks and imagined sequences feel like a liberation, as we catch glimpses of Jean-Do’s former life and the journeys he goes on in his mind (as he says, “Other than my eye, two things aren’t paralysed: my imagination and my memory”).
To achieve such a unique visual style, the direction, editing and cinematography must come together seamlessly, and the film-makers have created a way of storytelling that is perfect for their subject matter. That the film garnered Oscar nominations for best director, editing and cinematography is testament to this. It also won the BAFTA for best adapted screenplay (from the novel that Bauby produced while in hospital) and France’s prestigious César award for Mathieu Almaric’s performance as Bauby. Almaric’s work in this film is deceptively simple – apart from the flashbacks he spends his entire time keeping still. But there is a lot going on in his performance; his voiceover runs the gamut from scared to cynical to hopeless to hopeful, his awkward posture suggests someone trapped within a mutinous body, and he makes the most of the one eye he’s allowed to emote with, conveying exasperation, sadness or bemused resignation with just a look.
The supporting actors are all fine, but Max von Sydow as Bauby’s father and Emmanuelle Seigner as the mother of his children stand out, each sharing particularly moving and delicately played scenes with Almaric. There are a few female characters in the film – the speech therapist, physical therapist, Jean-Do’s mistress, and the woman who writes out his novel – but through a combination of similar features and hairstyles, and insufficient character development, they are fairly interchangeable and make no lasting impact. This is a shame because although Jean-Do is the focus of the film, the people that looked after him at his lowest point should be as important to the story as they were to his life.
The Diving Bell and The Butterfly is a flawed but poignant film that celebrates the power of imagination, and determination in the face of terrible affliction, with visual flair and strong central performances.
Review by Catherine Leopold
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