Julian Schnabel's third feature
finds him reaching new artistic heights with this audacious and
personal biopic, based on the best-selling memoir of the same
name. The film tells the remarkable tale of Jean-Dominique Bauby
(Mathieu Amalric), the world-renowned editor of French ELLE
magazine, who suffered a stroke and was paralyzed by the
inexplicable "locked in" syndrome at the age of 43. Bauby's only
way of communicating with the outside world was by blinking with
one eye. After several dedicated helpers assisted him to speak
through this seemingly irrelevant gesture, he began to produce
the words that would form his memoir
An astonishing, deeply moving film,
Schnabel's third film is also his masterpiece, thanks to
extraordinary direction, stunning camerawork, a terrific script
and an Oscar-worthy central performance from
Amalric.
Matthew Turner, View
London
