M Butterfly

Jeremy Irons is cast as Rene Gallimard. John Lone, who was actually trained in the Beijing opera and who played the title role in The Last Emperor, is cast as Song Liling. He is not a convincing female but I feel this was the director's intent. The story is, after all, about Gallimard's blind obsession in his desire for the perfect woman. Both Irons' and Lone's performances are magnificent. Both are tragic and sympathetic characters caught up in history.

The theme is also about the role of men and women as well as Communist China and the cultural revolution. Great cinematography and setting brings us to the heart of China which is going through its growing pains. Deception and betrayal are everywhere, not just between the two leading characters involved in the romance.

I was unprepared to like the video as much as I did. It did not do well at the box office, I knew the theme in advance and felt it would strain my belief system. However, I was swept away in the story and the excellent performances and had no trouble overlooking its flaws. Of course the author took dramatic license and created a ending that played like an opera, but who is to blame him; the story itself just cried out for theatrics.

Recommended as an interesting departure from the ordinary.


Breathtaking   June 7, 2003
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

I don't think anyone could have done justice to writing the screenplay to M Butterfly (based on David Henry Hwang's stage play) than Hwang himself. While it is a bit of a departure from the 1988 play based on the true story of a French diplomat who falls in love with a Chinese opera singer and the disastrous outcome of their affair, as a film it could not have been done otherwise.

Jeremy Irons, a wonderful actor no matter what role he plays, makes for an astounding Rene Gallimard. Less sarcastic than John Lithgow, who created the role on Broadway, Irons gives new depth and intensity to the frustrated, naive accountant. The dramatic depth to John Lone's Song Liling is equal to Irons and equal in departure from BD Wong's somewhat giggly Broadway portrayal of the Chinese diva.

A great deal of "s" words can be used to describe David Cronenberg's film, the top of that list including subtle and sexy. The tone is set, mostly, by the score--which includes traditional-sounding Chinese music and variations of Puccini's Madame Butterfly (especially the recurring theme of "Un Bel Di")--and the scenery (shot in the Far East and Budapest). The ubiquitous soft red and gold tones add to the seductive, nearly erotic edge of the film, all of which culminate at the end.

I don't want to give any of it away, mainly because when I saw the movie I had already read and seen the play, and there is so much more meaning to realize the end with Rene, but I will say that it is moving to the point of tears. Not necessarily because of the outcome, but more in how the actors play it and how the director has realized it. If you have ANY interest in purchasing this film (especially if you have any experience with Hwang's stage play), by all means buy it. It won't disappoint.


Just Like a Woman   February 10, 2001
Kathy Fennessy
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

M. Butterfly was one of David Cronenberg's more poorly received films, but I think it's actually pretty underrated. It bears mentioning, however, that I felt the same way about his take on William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch, which also received mixed reviews, but can't have been an easy work to adapt. M. Butterfly is an adaptation of David Henry Hwang's Tony Award winning play and is based on a true story (Naked Lunch, despite its radical form, was also largely based on events from Burroughs' life -- both real and imagined).

I think the timing of M. Butterfly's release was partly to blame for its lukewarm reception as it touches on some of the same gender, sexual orientation and cultural issues as Farewell My Concubine, which was released around the same time. Chen Kaige's more controversial, but widely praised Chinese epic went on to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes. M. Butterfly does pale a bit in comparison. Leslie Cheung is more dynamic than The Last Emperor's John Lone in a similar part (as a man specializing in female operatic roles) -- but it's still a worthwhile effort and a change of pace for Mr. Cronenberg from his usual high-tech sci-fi/horror scenarios. And Jeremy Irons can almost always be counted on to give a quality performance (Dungeons and Dragons aside...). Rene Gallimard may represent a less challenging role than that of Dead Ringers' twin gynecologists, but Irons makes this lovesick French diplomat sympathetic and believable even as lets his love for Lilong Song (Lone) blind him to the seemingly obvious truth of the matter -- that the woman he's fallen in love with is really not a woman at all.


Moving   May 9, 2002
Emily McB (Vancouver, Canada)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

Considering that it was a Cronenberg movie, I found it surprisingly normal and accessible. I also found it thoroughly engrossing and much more emotionally satisfying than I's expected, given some of the reviews. Jeremy Irons gave his usual pitch-perfect performance; perhaps this film was something of a warm-up for his playing Humbert Humbert in the similarly themed Lolita. However, I was blown away even more by John Lone. He wasn't as convincing as a woman as he might have been, but that really wasn't the point, and when you see his transformation to his true persona at the end of the film, the sheer contrast, and the conviction to both the performances, should prove just how talented he is.
Overall, I found an unexpected treasure here; what from the box could have been a overwraught weepy sex-drama was actually intelligent, emotionally truthful, and well made.