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.

Christine’s story is out there if you care to look it up, and as far as I know, the film remains accurate to real-life events. I normally don’t like to give away too much, but it’s no surprise where this tale is headed. Besides, it is a true story, and I actually think that knowing the tragedy of the ending adds real context and nuance to nearly every single scene. This isn’t a film you watch for the story; it’s one you watch for the acting.

Some other nice touches include camera work and a pop ‘70s soundtrack, both of which reinforce the feeling of the time period, as well as great support from the rest of the cast, especially Tracy Detts as Michael, the head of the station, and Maria Dizzia as Chubbuck’s friend and coworker Jean, who seems to be the only one who can truly reach her. One thing that really stood out to me were the scenes with Chubbuck running a puppet show for local kids.  Beyond providing a nice counter-point to the newsroom scenes, they actually deepen our understanding of what’s going on in Christine’s head.

This is a tough film to watch, but I’m going to highly recommend you do so. I was completely absorbed by Hall, especially, and found myself thinking about the film for days afterwards. IMDB has it at a 7.1, but I would bump that up to a 7.5 or an 8.0. It’s worth it for the performance alone, which in my opinion really was the best of the year (although I haven’t yet seen Natalie Portman in Jackie yet). Don’t confuse this one with the other biopic of Chubbuck that’s out there, Kate Plays Christine. I understand that one’s good as well, but this one is not to be missed. (running time 1:59)