History Film / Christine2016

** Ironically, the film ends with Jean singing along to the theme of the ''Series/TheMaryTylerMooreShow'' -- a show that was extremely progressive in its time in showing a similarly single, childless woman around 30 dedicated to her career in television but also looking for love. ''That'' show was decidedly optimistic and hopeful, while Christine's story unfortunately doesn't get the same idealism.

* MeanCharacterNiceActor: In the film, Mike Nelson is mostly antagonistic towards Christine, and is quick to criticise her. In real life, Rebecca Hall found it extremely encouraging that Mike's actor, Creator/TracyLetts, is a Pulitzer-winning playwright who wouldn't stop going on about how great the script was and how good the film was going to be.

* NoSocialSkills: Christine tries hard to fit in, but her behavior frequently zigzags between awkward and abrasive, earning her few points with those around her.

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: Christine has a number of ideas that Nelson is unimpressed by, but that have become very successful in modern TV, such as the genre of RealityTV, dramatic reenactments of crimes (now common practice in the TrueCrime genre), and her pitch for an in-depth investigative look at gritty stories reminiscent of [[Series/SixtyMinutes 60 Minutes]].

* DoggedNiceGuy: Turner to Christine.

* FriendToAllChildren: Christine adores children and [[TruthInTelevision volunteers her time doing puppet shows at the children's hospital]]. She also expresses a strong desire to have children of her own someday, and this is why learning she's going to need an ovary removed as it has a cyst (which will make that more difficult) is very depressing for her.

* SuddenlyShouting: [[TheWoobie "OH, WHY WON'T ANYONE JUST LISTEN TO ME!?"]]

* RealFootageRecreation: The film recreates Christine Chubbuck's on air suicide. The actual footage of the suicide is kept locked away so this recreation is as close as most people will come to seeing it (although the audio portion has recently resurfaced, most likely recorded off-screen by a third party).

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: [[https://filmdaily.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/chubbuck-lede.jpg The real Christine]], while certainly attractive, wasn't quite on the same level as Rebecca Hall, even with the awkward posture and abrasive manner.

* RealFootageRecreation: The film recreates Christine Chubbuck's on air suicide. The actual footage of the suicide is kept locked away so this recreation is as close as most people will come to seeing it.

* UnexpectedVirgin: The woman at a therapy group Christine attends and partners with looks visibly surprised after she reveals that she's a virgin at age 29. Christine's clearly unhappy with it herself.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Even with the awkward posture and abrasive manner of her subject, Rebecca Hall is still much more conventionally attractive than [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/80/Christine_Chubbuck.jpg Christine]].

* AgeLift: According to [[http://reprints.longform.org/christine-chubbuck-29-good-looking-educated-a-television-personality-dead-live-and-in-color contemporary sources]], Mike was around Christine's age in real life (actually a few years younger) and Jean middle-aged, whereas in the film it's Mike that's middle-aged and Jean closer to Christine's age.

Christine Chubbuck (Creator/RebeccaHall) is a field reporter at small-time television station WXLT in Sarasota, Florida in 1974. Christine is driven and passionate and cares about her work--which turns out to be a problem. Station manager Michael Nelson (Tracy Letts), desperate to turn around the sagging ratings of the station, is demanding more sensationalistic stories, much to the disgust of Christine, who wants to do more substantive news reporting. This leads to violent arguments with Nelson.

** While a 29-year-old virgin would be fairly uncommon in today's society, it's not quite a social death knell, and a woman that age being unmarried has ceased turning heads. At the time in the film, Christine was already long considered a hopeless spinster, with her goal of making a family seen as approaching the impossible regardless of her medical condition -- no doubt contributing to her depression.

* {{Adorkable}}: Early on when her depression wasn't at its high peak, Christine. Very meek, dorky, and shy.

* {{Adorkable}}: Early on when her depression wasn't at its high peak, Christine is this. Very meek, dorky, and shy.

* FriendToAllChildren: Christine adores children and [[TruthInTelevision volunteers her time doing puppet shows at the children's hospital]].

** This trope is particularly unusual for a {{Biopic}} dealing with a person who famously committed suicide; most films of this nature [[SeriousBusiness tend to skip over the act of suicide]], for [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing fear of glamorisation or provoking copycat incidents]], but due to the nature of Chubbuck's suicide - that she wanted it to be broadcasted and televised - it seems somewhat proper that it should be depicted in graphic detail in the film, although the aftermath with all her devastated friends and relatives is depicted very soon afterward.
* HopeSpot: After agreeing to a dinner with George, we finally get to see Christine being genuinely happy. But everything goes downhill quick once we learn that George's intention is not a romantic one.

** Christine does get her "juicy" story of a man who was caught on a fire and puts it on her segment, which everyone was impressed by (along with the fact the man survived). Mike's response? ''Not a juicy story''. Suffice to say, Christine ''isn't'' happy.

* RealityIsUnrealistic: According to those who saw the original broadcast, Christine was cool and emotionless and not hesitant before she committed suicide that fateful day.

* SanitySlippage: Christine undergoes this ''hard'' as the movie progresses, from feeling unnerved by the change of news stories at the station, her feelings towards George, the fact if she doesn't get a ovary removed she won't be able to conceive, and of course her own struggling depression that eventually pushes her into suicide.

* SuddenlyShouting: [[TheWoobie "OH, WHY WON'T ANYONE JUST LISTEN TO ME!?"]]

* BasedOnATrueStory: "Based on true events"

** The real Christine had a brother who also lived with her mother in a sort of "adult commune," and she had no apparent conflict with her mother unlike in the film.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: While a 30-year-old virgin would be fairly uncommon in today's society, it's not quite a social death knell, and a woman that age being unmarried has ceased turning heads. At the time in the film, Christine was already long considered a hopeless spinster, with her goal of making a family seen as approaching the impossible regardless of her medical condition -- no doubt contributing to her depression.

* DrivenToSuicide: In a horrible public way.

* GoryDiscretionShot: {{Averted}}; the camera, as in real life, doesn't move away from Christine shooting herself.

* NoSocialSkills: Christine tries hard to fit in, but her behavior frequently zig-zags between awkward and abrasive, earning her few points with those around her.
* ObliviousToLove: While he at least seems a little intrigued by his fiery co-worker, George completely misses Christine's crush on him.

* DemotedToExtra: The real Christine had a best friend named Andrea, not appearing in the film. Andrea was secretly dating the man she knew Christine had a crush on, and [[KickTheDog Christine was devastated]] when she found out about the relationship.[[note]]Andrea also didn't gain a gentle touch after the suicide, blasting Christine and accusing her of being selfish, pessimistic and obnoxiously self-defeating.[[/note]] The film includes a character named Andrea who George requests to be transferred with him, but she doesn't play much of a role in the narrative and does not have a close relationship to Christine.

* Jerkass Has A Point: Nelson has a point about the coverage of the fire story Christine presents - she ignores getting images of a potentially impressive fire in favour of a close up on a man. Nelson is also pushing Christine over learning the new technology. His advice about her stories is good, just badly expressed given their already tense relationship.