M. Butterfly Review

For my English 200 class, I was tasked with watching the film M. Butterfly and compare it to the written play that we had previously read. While I was skeptical about the low scores on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes for the film, I assumed I'd find some more enjoyment from the story, seeing it adapted in a different way. Right away, I noticed key similarities and key differences. The way the two characters met, was word for word the same dialogue sequence that it was in the play, however there were a lot of things that the writer changed for the on screen adaptation. Which was strange, because the original writer, Henry Hwang, also wrote the adapted screenplay. The most notable difference is the narrative style change, in which the movie has a linear passage of time. The heart and soul of the play is the 4th wall breaking segments that take place at different times of the events of the story. It provides a light hearted lens in which the characters can express their thoughts and feelings in an efficient way. It was interesting to see these differences, because it was the writer of the original play that wrote the screenplay. 

Themes regarding gender identity are a large part of both the original play and the film, but I don't think the approached the subject that well in the film version. With the lack of that 4th wall breaking flare, it just seems dramatized to a degree that doesn't quite land. It's not that the subject matter isn't serious, but the lousy acting and laziness within the adaptation make it clear that this was a relatively uninspired project when compared to its predecessor. This begs the question, why remake something that is already good? It feels like, within Hollywood especially, this is overdone to an ungodly extent. Whether it be for a cash grab, or simply just Hwang wanting his story to stay relevant in a new way, the making of adaptations such as these seem rushed and uninspired. I do want to clarify that the movie wasn't awful by any means, but an average adapted movie that doesn't try to do much of anything bold, makes me upset. A lot of changes were made when adapting the text to a movie, but all of those changes seemed to be made in order to cater to the traditional qualities of a Hollywood film. Which, in the end, creates a film that suffers from a lack of passion, direction, and meaning.

However, there is one scene in particular that I feel the movie did establish itself with. I like to think that maybe Hwang wanted to make the story into a film because this scene stuck out to him in his mind. I feel it is more likely to be the cash grab scenario mentioned before, but the final scene does do the film justice. The final scene being in a very unrealistic prison creates a sense of Mise en scene like no other. The prisoners are lined up looking down into what is a stage for Rene. He puts on the traditional Japanese attire that song sported as he makes his final remarks. The scene is very captivating and actually seems to have the same ambition that the play had. Maybe it is because it is a stage performance within the film, but it just feels like it is achieving something similar to the original play. Overall, I feel like a majority of the movie is lousy, but it isn't too bad. I rated it a 6 out of 10.