Just a gimmick. It's a good one, even a great one, but, once the film ended, I realized it was just a gimmick. A gimmick propping up one of my least favorite movie plots: the paralyzed person triumphing (in a way) against adversity. Others include The Wings of Eagles and, more recently, The Sea Inside. The style, which attempts to capture everything from the point of its protagonist, a man with locked-in syndrome (i.e., he can only move one eye, but is entirely conscious). I'm impressed by what Schnabel was able to achieve here, but I must say, I never felt anything for any of the characters. Only Max von Sydow, with two knockout scenes, registers. The man's three female helpers are easy to mix up, and his wife and mistress don't have much personality. Because of this, it faded almost as soon as the credits started to roll.
Review of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
