Rebecca Hall on bringing humanity to TV reporter's on-air suicide in 'Christine'

When Florida TV news reporter Christine Chubbuck killed herself live on air in 1974 the incident became an infamous moment in broadcast history — and one that actress Rebecca Hall felt deserved fairer treatment with the film “Christine.”

Chubbuck’s suicide became fodder for sensationalist books about TV’s most shocking events and countless Internet debates have raged over whether a videotape exists of the incident. The footage has never turned up.

“If we hadn’t made this film that’s how it would carry on,” Hall says of Chubbuck’s haunting legacy.

“Part of my job is to try and get rid of the ‘scary-monster’ reaction.”

So Hall, who’s starred in “Iron Man 3” and Oscar-nominated “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” accepted the titular role and delivered a subtle performance that’s earning her critical raves for her portrayal of a woman edging towards her breaking point.

In real life, Chubbuck was frustrated with the direction of her employer, a local Sarasota news station, where sensational events were taking priority over human interest stories. One morning, she went off script and vented her frustrations during a live broadcast.

“In keeping with Channel 40’s policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts, and in living colour, you are going to see another first — attempted suicide,” Chubbuck said to the cameras.

She then lifted a revolver from her bag, put it to her head and pulled the trigger, leaving viewers shell-shocked.

The moment serves as the climax to “Christine,” but it’s the days leading up to her suicide that the film truly focuses on.

Chubbuck suffered from depression and detachment issues, but her suicide left more questions than answers

. Sifting through the complexities is what attracted Hall to the project, which she describes as an interpretation of true events.

“It’s an extraordinary piece of writing,” Hall says of the script.

“It didn’t feel like a biopic … or even an attempt to try and explain (her).”

Hall credits the film’s unique tone to screenwriter Craig Shilowich, who suffered his own unexplainable bout of depression while at New York University in the wake of 9/11.

“I was a straight-A student, then I got to college and the wheels just started wobbling,” Shilowich remembers.

“I’d spend days on end walking my room, peeing out of the window, just to not have to deal with anybody.”

Shilowich couldn’t pin down why it was happening, but depression was crippling him. He dropped out, met with doctors and for years drifted through life in search of answers.

“The more I picked it apart the worse the knot got,” he says.

“I kind of wandered out of it again, the same way I mysteriously came into that period of my life.”

When Shilowich discovered Chubbuck’s unusual life trajectory he was instantly fascinated with her.

“Opening up this women’s story and trying to piece it together, knowing it’s never really going to fit, was appealing to me,” he says.

Shilowich tried to put himself in her shoes and built a storyline using interviews he conducted with former newsroom colleagues and reports published after she died.

“We didn’t put anything in the movie, and present it as fact, if it wasn’t backed by fact,” he says.

“I filled in the gaps with personal experience. I’m drawn to people like her — troubled, intelligent, vibrant people.”

Hall found her own fascination with Chubbuck’s forthright criticism of TV news.

“It’s present and centre right now in America,” she says.

“I don’t think that makes her a hero. It’s a profound tragedy.”

“Christine” rolls out in select Canadian theatres over the coming weeks, including in Calgary, Edmonton, Regina and Saskatoon. Next month, “Christine” will screen in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria and Winnipeg.

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David Friend , The Canadian Press