The Diving Bell And The Butterfly

By Mal -

8 out of 10

Basing a film on the experiences of an almost completely paralysed man might sound grim, but I found it compelling. Told, remarkably, from the man's own perspective, it's an account of him coming to terms with his living nightmare, interspersed with flashbacks to his pre-stroke life.

While I felt it was a very good film, its story sympathetically told, and despite some incredibly moving moments, I still felt it lacked something. Perhaps it was the almost diary-like format that gave it a bullet-pointed feel at times. Even so, some of those bullet points were every bit as touching as my personal tear-jerking benchmark (Grave of the Fireflies), making it a film well worth seeing. Great performances from the cast all round, too. I just thank god that Johnny Depp wasn't free to take the lead role.

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