Kate Plays ChristineWhen an actor depicts a real person, how much of themselves must they devote to that portrayal, and how much of their subject rubs off on them? Kate Plays Christine is a documentary film about Kate Lyn Sheil, an actor cast to play the lead in a biopic about Christine Chubbuck, a newscaster who tragically committed suicide on live television over forty years prior. Because of a dearth of material for Kate to research in preparation for her performance, she undertakes a quest to discover everything she can about Christine's past. She interviews various people in Sarasota, Florida, and in turn becomes sympathetic to Christine's life and the circumstances of her demise.
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Kate Plays Christine tackles a variety of large themes in its two hour running time, from the rippling effects of suicide and mental illness, to media exploitation and gun violence, and the blurring of identity following Kate's immersive investigation into an enigmatic person like Christine Chubbuck. Kate is our guide into this introspective and haunting journey; despite being presented as a documentary, the film is largely from her point of view. Kate describes herself as having come back to acting again and again as a means to draw her out of her own introverted nature; she had "quit" several times before, but returned out of "compulsion". Kate confesses that she knew little about Christine Chubbuck before taking the role, but was aware that her infamous suicide attempt grimly etched her place in television history. It is suggested that as much as Kate gleans from the locals of Sarasota about Christine, she also contributes aspects of herself in her rendition. Kate comments that she has a "responsibility" to represent Christine faithfully, but since there is a good deal of supposition about who she was based on a lack of evidence, Kate projects her own feelings into the role by necessity. Kate sees Christine as an embodiment of a complex set of values in order to grab ahold of what defines her. She posits that some of Christine's frustrations came from being a woman in a male-dominated field; Kate's exploration reveals that this is only one aspect that contributed to her suicide. Kate reads an article that describes the shooting in order to visualize the event, because any footage of it has since been made unavailable, which only adds to its mystique. The article reads like a cross between a forensics report and stage direction, and paints a visceral image of the moment in Kate's mind to draw upon when the time comes to recreate it herself.
Kate puts herself in the same psychological space that she envisions Christine was in, redecorating her hotel room with stuffed animals--as Christine did--and going out to night clubs in an anxious or even aloof state of mind to keep her out of synch with the throngs of partygoers. Kate's investigation of Christine Chubbuck's life is done to understand why she would kill herself--and in the way that she did--and what she was like. Kate's search becomes obsessive, transforming herself to establish a rapport with the dead. Kate buys a high-quality wig meant to resemble Christine's hair, and goes out wearing the wig with an outfit that would have been common in the Seventies, when Christine lived in Sarasota. She recreates events with real-life people while dressed as Christine--a ritual to tap into Christine's resonant soul that she feels is floating nearby; as she puts it, it's like trying to capture "something ephemeral". Kate undertakes a complex method acting routine from the moment she adopts the role, taking unusually dedicated steps to transform herself for her job--something Kate believes that Christine experienced in her role as a journalist. She goes to an optometrist to obtain colored contact lenses so that her eyes look like Christine's. When Kate visits a tanning salon, she is apologetic about how "pale" she is, and appears anxious as she looks at posters of gorgeous women with bronzed bodies. (Christine was originally from Northeast Ohio, where being pale comes with the frequently overcast days.) She twice reads a passage from Christine's teenage journal, in which she comments about her fears of failure. Kate becomes more and more obsessed with her own performance, exhibiting the same kind of perfectionism and impatience found in the scenes of the biopic about Christine. Kate Plays Christine teases that in Kate's intense search to understand Christine, the intense psychological simpatico she forms with the late reporter affects her own state of mind; more provocatively, Kate has become "possessed" by these aspects of Christine. Kate doesn't much look like Christine, and many people tell her that she doesn't have Christine's "hard-edged" demeanor. There is a gradual shift in Kate's attitude; she becomes increasingly agitated and even lashes out at her colleagues while performing scenes with them--as if she is channeling Christine, and is willing to sacrifice a part of her personality to do it. Kate interviews people who worked at the old TV station where Christine ended her life, and they casually suggest that Christine's "ghost" haunted the facility, adding an extra layer of unease to the already eerie documentary.
Kate tells her father that Christine's vivid death was an inspiration for the outlandish claims made by Howard Beale in Network, released shortly after the shooting. (Screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky claims that despite the similarities, it was simply a coincidence.) Network is brought up a couple more times in Kate Plays Christine, partly due to the threat (and execution) of an on-air suicide, but also because of the connection between media sensationalism and the public. There is an inescapable paradox in how Christine only came to public recognition because of her sensational suicide, something she sarcastically observes in her final moments. The question lingers as to whether history would have acknowledged her if she had not done what she did. Stories about Christine describe her being dedicated to her profession, and someone who felt unappreciated by her employer--a smaller TV station relying on sensational news stories to draw viewers. Yet a former colleague comments that despite her passion for journalism, she wasn't a terribly good interviewer; even if she were, how many people have made a biopic about Barbara Walters or Phil Donahue? This revelation dawns on Kate, and she becomes increasingly uncomfortable with the basis of the role. As she develops a deeper understanding of Christine, giving an authentic performance becomes imperative for Kate, and increasingly difficult--Kate knows how it ends for the troubled woman who she confesses she has become "protective" of. As Kate emulates Christine's existence, it is as though she were resurrecting the deceased woman out sympathy or pity--giving her a chance to vicariously enjoy life again. A local historian ponders why know one seems to remember Christine; he shares an aphorism that "you die two times...the first when your life ends, and the second at the last time someone speaks your name". Kate becomes Christine in effigy--beyond the scope of her role--by wearing the kinds of clothes she would wear, acting how she would act, and wearing the wig even while swimming. This dissolution of identity has prompted comparisons being Kate Plays Christine and Vertigo--both films depict one woman sacrificing her personality for the sake of a performance as someone dead. The opening credits intimate this, as one name is overlaid with another, speaking to the mutability of people's personalities, especially where actors are concerned.
Kate Plays Christine defies the definition of a documentary at times, and cleverly exploits the format to make a statement about the predatory and circuitous relationship between media, violence, and entertainment. It also explores the contentious topic of gun violence by necessity, since it is closely tied to Christine's death. Kate interviews a news anchor with silver hair and a warm smile who offers his opinion on the futility of Christine's suicide. But because he carries himself with the presence of the on-air personality that he is, it ends up coming across as disingenuous; Kate gives an almost imperceptible response that reinforces this. When she investigates how Christine might have obtained the revolver she used to end her life at the whimsically named gun shop, "The Bullet Hole", the proprietor expresses his sorrow that such an event occurred, but emphasizes that he cannot feel responsible for those who choose to harm themselves, simply because they purchased a gun from his establishment. This scene is followed with one that would be exploitative in a lesser documentary, where Kate (playing Christine) purchases the same style of pistol Christine would later use to kill herself from the same gun store owner. This is not a cheap shot at the Second Amendment, but is meant to explore the self-destructive feelings Christine must have been confronting at the time she took the serious step to arm herself. There are several instances where clinicians and actors working with Kate discuss suicide in frank terms. Some share very personal and emotional stories with sympathy and gravity that underscores the tragedy of ending one's own life. A doctor shares his professional opinion that the reason that Christine performed her suicide on television was likely to ensure that her voice was heard by those she felt were responsible for bringing her to this end. This comprehensive immersion into Christine's world forces Kate to acknowledge just how serious such a leap into darkness really is. Her revelation is crucial to the climax of the film, where she is forced to become this sorrowful, young woman who was so hurt in her life, but but also reenact her grisly end in a scene that only seems to reinforce attitudes about exploitative violence, raising questions about her culpability in such a ritual.
Recommended for: Fans of a chilling documentary that subverts tropes of the genre to tackle complex issues about identity, media violence, and severe mental health problems. Kate Plays Christine is appropriately somber given the subject matter, but never downplays the topic of suicide, instead exploring the suffering it brings and the awareness that follows the coping process.
Kate puts herself in the same psychological space that she envisions Christine was in, redecorating her hotel room with stuffed animals--as Christine did--and going out to night clubs in an anxious or even aloof state of mind to keep her out of synch with the throngs of partygoers. Kate's investigation of Christine Chubbuck's life is done to understand why she would kill herself--and in the way that she did--and what she was like. Kate's search becomes obsessive, transforming herself to establish a rapport with the dead. Kate buys a high-quality wig meant to resemble Christine's hair, and goes out wearing the wig with an outfit that would have been common in the Seventies, when Christine lived in Sarasota. She recreates events with real-life people while dressed as Christine--a ritual to tap into Christine's resonant soul that she feels is floating nearby; as she puts it, it's like trying to capture "something ephemeral". Kate undertakes a complex method acting routine from the moment she adopts the role, taking unusually dedicated steps to transform herself for her job--something Kate believes that Christine experienced in her role as a journalist. She goes to an optometrist to obtain colored contact lenses so that her eyes look like Christine's. When Kate visits a tanning salon, she is apologetic about how "pale" she is, and appears anxious as she looks at posters of gorgeous women with bronzed bodies. (Christine was originally from Northeast Ohio, where being pale comes with the frequently overcast days.) She twice reads a passage from Christine's teenage journal, in which she comments about her fears of failure. Kate becomes more and more obsessed with her own performance, exhibiting the same kind of perfectionism and impatience found in the scenes of the biopic about Christine. Kate Plays Christine teases that in Kate's intense search to understand Christine, the intense psychological simpatico she forms with the late reporter affects her own state of mind; more provocatively, Kate has become "possessed" by these aspects of Christine. Kate doesn't much look like Christine, and many people tell her that she doesn't have Christine's "hard-edged" demeanor. There is a gradual shift in Kate's attitude; she becomes increasingly agitated and even lashes out at her colleagues while performing scenes with them--as if she is channeling Christine, and is willing to sacrifice a part of her personality to do it. Kate interviews people who worked at the old TV station where Christine ended her life, and they casually suggest that Christine's "ghost" haunted the facility, adding an extra layer of unease to the already eerie documentary.
Kate tells her father that Christine's vivid death was an inspiration for the outlandish claims made by Howard Beale in Network, released shortly after the shooting. (Screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky claims that despite the similarities, it was simply a coincidence.) Network is brought up a couple more times in Kate Plays Christine, partly due to the threat (and execution) of an on-air suicide, but also because of the connection between media sensationalism and the public. There is an inescapable paradox in how Christine only came to public recognition because of her sensational suicide, something she sarcastically observes in her final moments. The question lingers as to whether history would have acknowledged her if she had not done what she did. Stories about Christine describe her being dedicated to her profession, and someone who felt unappreciated by her employer--a smaller TV station relying on sensational news stories to draw viewers. Yet a former colleague comments that despite her passion for journalism, she wasn't a terribly good interviewer; even if she were, how many people have made a biopic about Barbara Walters or Phil Donahue? This revelation dawns on Kate, and she becomes increasingly uncomfortable with the basis of the role. As she develops a deeper understanding of Christine, giving an authentic performance becomes imperative for Kate, and increasingly difficult--Kate knows how it ends for the troubled woman who she confesses she has become "protective" of. As Kate emulates Christine's existence, it is as though she were resurrecting the deceased woman out sympathy or pity--giving her a chance to vicariously enjoy life again. A local historian ponders why know one seems to remember Christine; he shares an aphorism that "you die two times...the first when your life ends, and the second at the last time someone speaks your name". Kate becomes Christine in effigy--beyond the scope of her role--by wearing the kinds of clothes she would wear, acting how she would act, and wearing the wig even while swimming. This dissolution of identity has prompted comparisons being Kate Plays Christine and Vertigo--both films depict one woman sacrificing her personality for the sake of a performance as someone dead. The opening credits intimate this, as one name is overlaid with another, speaking to the mutability of people's personalities, especially where actors are concerned.
Kate Plays Christine defies the definition of a documentary at times, and cleverly exploits the format to make a statement about the predatory and circuitous relationship between media, violence, and entertainment. It also explores the contentious topic of gun violence by necessity, since it is closely tied to Christine's death. Kate interviews a news anchor with silver hair and a warm smile who offers his opinion on the futility of Christine's suicide. But because he carries himself with the presence of the on-air personality that he is, it ends up coming across as disingenuous; Kate gives an almost imperceptible response that reinforces this. When she investigates how Christine might have obtained the revolver she used to end her life at the whimsically named gun shop, "The Bullet Hole", the proprietor expresses his sorrow that such an event occurred, but emphasizes that he cannot feel responsible for those who choose to harm themselves, simply because they purchased a gun from his establishment. This scene is followed with one that would be exploitative in a lesser documentary, where Kate (playing Christine) purchases the same style of pistol Christine would later use to kill herself from the same gun store owner. This is not a cheap shot at the Second Amendment, but is meant to explore the self-destructive feelings Christine must have been confronting at the time she took the serious step to arm herself. There are several instances where clinicians and actors working with Kate discuss suicide in frank terms. Some share very personal and emotional stories with sympathy and gravity that underscores the tragedy of ending one's own life. A doctor shares his professional opinion that the reason that Christine performed her suicide on television was likely to ensure that her voice was heard by those she felt were responsible for bringing her to this end. This comprehensive immersion into Christine's world forces Kate to acknowledge just how serious such a leap into darkness really is. Her revelation is crucial to the climax of the film, where she is forced to become this sorrowful, young woman who was so hurt in her life, but but also reenact her grisly end in a scene that only seems to reinforce attitudes about exploitative violence, raising questions about her culpability in such a ritual.
Recommended for: Fans of a chilling documentary that subverts tropes of the genre to tackle complex issues about identity, media violence, and severe mental health problems. Kate Plays Christine is appropriately somber given the subject matter, but never downplays the topic of suicide, instead exploring the suffering it brings and the awareness that follows the coping process.