I put off seeing this movie since I knew the subject matter would be hard to handle. As expected, it rattled me to the core. Based on the true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who had a massive stroke at the age of 42 that left him completely paralyzed with the exception of his left eye, the movie follows Bauby's painfully slow progress in finding a way to communicate and deal with the physical devestation he has experienced. In a brilliant but daring approach, director Julian Schnabel has chosen to show most of the movie from Bauby's point of view. We are seemingly inside this man's mind and body as we see him waking up from a coma to discover that what's left of his life is the ability to blink his left eye and nothing more.
French actor Mathieu Amalric (previously seen in "Munich") is wonderful as Bauby (known as"Jean-Do" by his friends and family). We see him in flashbacks as the person he was before the stroke, involved in the world of high fashion and helping his housebound father (an excellence performance by Max von Sydow). Two physical therapists (played by Marie-Josee Croze and Olatz Lopez Garmendia, both outstanding) assist Jean-Do in gaining the ability to find a way out of his physical prison.
This is a director's movie, though, and Schnabel does a superb job of making the plight of Jean-Do both horrifying and exhilarating. He skillfully maneuvers us between Jean-Do's locked-in physical condition (the diving bell) and his vivid imagination (the butterfly). I haven't been able to shake this movie for days. Not for the faint of heart, but a must-see for fans of cinema. Movie magic at its best.
Things to love about this movie: The amazing directing, good soundtrack, unique perspective
Things to hate about this movie: It gave me trouble sleeping (but maybe that's a good thing)
Pleasant surprise: There were some good laughs
Unpleasant surprise: Plot spoiler so won't divulge it here
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