Review of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) by Michael C — 11 Aug 2009

Many great films are great because they relate tales and stories that one would never expect to see in their own lives. This of course isn't the only criteria to a great film, but it certainly is one of them.

What is even more interesting I think is that many of these unbelievable stories presented through film are actually dramatizations of stories that really did occur, which makes it even more breathtaking to behold.

Such is the case with the terrific film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, the remarkable story of a man who is completely paralyzed and mute, and yet learned to communicate with a series of blinks with his left eye.

The premise of the film sounds like it couldn't maintain attention for the feature length of a film, but Julian Schnabel paces the story in a way that for the most part maintains audience attention throughout; the film is primarily shot from first person perspective, which is one of the film's strengths and weaknesses.

On one hand it adds a really unique view of the events of the film, and yet at times it feels as if there is too much of this perspective. This hindrance is minimized though by a powerful story and two great performances; Mathieu Amalric is great in the lead role, though his acting was required to be fairly minimal for the role, and Marie-Josée Croze steals the movie for me as his speech therapist.

It is apparent in the film that many people are determined to make the lead character feel comfortable despite his plight, but Croze through her performance as his speech therapist. The fact that this woman practiced so much care and patience to actually take the time to transcribe the book he was dictated through a series of blinks shows a dedication that I have rarely seen equaled.

My admiration goes out to the real life inspiration for this character as their selfless action helped craft a remarkable story. One other detail worth mentioning; despite some rather dramatic and saddening moments, there are actually a number of dark yet humorous moments related by the central character, and helped the emotional structure of the film immensely.