Tragic Reality TV Shocker "Christine (2016)" Stars Tracy Letts as the Station Mgr

For those who have come of age watching reality TV, unbeknownst to life before cellphones & modern technology, the tragic on air suicide of Christine Chubbuck in 1974 may not resonate with you. Yes, this is disturbing, but not likely shocking.  And those who remember the 70's without hi-tech all around us, the world felt awfully big & at times very lonely.  "Christine" is a film that captures the 70's antiquated ways & Watergate days.  Christine Chubbuck (an effectively volatile Rebecca Hall "The Gift") is a mentally unstable TV reporter at a small Saratoga station.  The film depicts her unraveling in the weeks before she shot herself on live TV.  Tracy Letts (actor & Pulitz Prize winning playwright "O'Sage County") plays the local station mgr Michael.  Michael & local news anchor, George (Michael Hall "Dexter") are both patient, perplexed and vexed at Christine's rants & inappropriate behavior.  No one, except for Christine's mother, fully comprehended her manic descent.  Yes, Christine is demanding & delusional, but no one at the network would have predicted her desperation leading to a publicized suicide.  Monday morning quarterbacking revealed things going off the rails.  The ensemble cast is first rate.  The movie's 70's soundtrack is sharply intune with what is happening.  The Watergate scandal mirrors Christine's deception & cover-up.  Nixon was the 1st Pres to resign and Christine's suicide the 1st ever televised.  Yes, these were all major news stories at the time, but now seem footnotes in history & a harbinger for the obsession of reality TV & life on the internet.   The film is a disturbing examination into mental illness.  You can never tell, but I don't think this well intentioned film is going to make it.