Going to Cannes is exhausting. If you want to experience everything it has to offer you have to wake up early in order to get as many screenings in a day and then stay up late to participate in the legendary nightlife. After about ten days the excitement takes a toll on your body. Chronic was one of the last films I saw, and at that point I was having a hard time processing one movie from another. I already had intentions of leaving the screening early, I just wanted a taste of it’s style. Once I sat in the theater for fifteen minutes I knew that there wasn’t any chance of me dipping out early.
Chronic starts off with the view of man bathing a woman confined to a wheelchair. We learn that David, played by Tim Roth, is a nurse who takes care of terminally ill patients who are unable to leave their homes. In the next scene David attends her funeral. And so it goes for his life. He develops strong bonds for everyone he cares for and once they’re gone he has to pick everything up and start again. After watching several vignettes of him with different patients you’d think you could expect how it would end. While most of the film plays pretty consistently, I can honestly say that Chronic’s final moment took my breath away.
The most captivating part of the film is that the camera is static in every scene. Each shot lasts about a minute long, so the viewer can examine everything going on for an extended period. Also, there is absolutely no score or added music to the film, everything we hear is diegetic. These factors make Chronic one of the most ‘fly-on-the-wall’ films I’ve seen in recent memory. With as little backstory that the audience receives, you still develop a vivid idea of what his past was like.
As I was watching the Closing Ceremony I was thrilled to hear that Chronic one Best Screenplay, but also slightly disappointed. Tim Roth gave what I consider one of the best performances of the festival and was hoping he’d take the Best Actor prize. With the little personality David displays, Roth is able to create a character that has depth and worth rooting for.
The Little Boy That Cannes 