Director: Ana Ularu (2016) BBFC cert: 15

Christine Chubbuck was a news reporter who gained infamy in 1974 when she shot herself on national television.

This indulgent and uninformative documentary follows actress Kate Lyn Sheil preparing to play the role of Christine in a forthcoming movie, a production we learn little about.

Feeling more of a showreel for future work than a fully fleshed out film, we see a great deal of Kate, particularly on her trips to the salon and the pool.

A product of the famous Lee Strasburg acting school, she embraces the method in preparation for her role. She accumulating wigs, hats, clothes and a tan, as well as interviewing Christine’s former colleagues, local journalists and an historian.

Sadly Christine remains an elusive figure. Her ghost is said to haunt the old TV studio and her name is a ghoulish byword for unexplained technical malfunctions.

Network, the 1976 classic movie was based on Christine’s suicide and a dramatisation of her death hits cinemas soon. Starring the brilliant Brit actress Rebecca Hall, I can only hope it’s more substantial than this.

★★☆☆☆

@ChrisHunneysett