Unfortunately, the best performance by an actress in a motion picture this year probably won’t get the Academy Award. It probably won’t be nominated, even. Hell, you likely won’t even see it, unless you take my advice and seek out Rebecca Hall’s performance as tragic news reporter Christine Chubbuck in 2016’s Christine. The film itself is well made, if low-budget, but what elevates it above the crowd is Hall. She is magnificent, giving as strong a portrayal of depression as I’ve seen, in that it doesn’t play into convenient scenes and stereotypes; the illness insinuates itself into every scene, every aspect of her life, from dealing with her mother, whom she lives with, to obsessively analyzing a video of herself, and wondering if she nods too much. Even her gait makes her seem that she’s uncomfortable in her own skin. It’s a heartbreaking portrayal, and often difficult to watch. Continue reading →