CHRISTINE (2016)

1/18/2017 - Christine (2016) – 6+/10

If you want a tightly coiled performance, with marked depth and haunting sincerity, Christine is the movie for you. Rebecca Hall plunges the audience into the fathoms of insecurities, anxieties, repressions and carcinogenic social interactions that she herself is drowning in. A stirring and interpretive portrayal that completely tyrannizes the film (what popped into mind is a subdued version of Michael Shannon from “Take Shelter”). The film needed the propulsion of the titular characters spiral, but the rest of the film cannot keep up the same extremes of quality and execution. They do not drag the film down, they just do not allow the buoyancy of Hall/Christine to lift everything up.

As I said, Hall is wonderful. The rest of the cast is solid, though they feel minimal and somewhat inconsequential. Campos (the director) does a fine job of capturing the impending doom of the emotions, with close ups and some decent blocking. Unfortunately, there isn’t a great deal of shine or substance to much of the rest of the materials exploration (though I did really like the expository shots of the station’s set & inner workings).

The music was a distinct problem. The bubbly score felt at odds with every scene and emotional beat, and not in a way that felt purposeful or shrewd. The choice just seemed off and distracting.

Christine is a heavy film, especially with its non-fictitious base. Its construction and application is sturdy but middling, relying on the strength of Christine to captivate and concern you. Thankfully, at least for me, it did.