David Cronenburg brings this Eastern tale of love and betrayal from stage to screen in a 1993 film adaptation. Basic gist, a diplomat (Irons) is obsessed with the local opera in 1940s China, and falls head over heels for a lead singer (Lone), believing him to be a woman due to ignorance of the gender roles in Chinese theatre. However, this 'Butterfly' uses this to squeeze French Government secrets out of the hopeless diplomat for the 'Reds'.
Perhaps a little condensed from its original form, and not as visceral as Cronenburg's more famous works, 'M. Butterfly' still provides a well-produced and emotional tale of love, belief & deception. The key driving force of the film is really our two leads, with Irons being predictably solid as the typical middle class man of the era, though Lone is easily the bigger revelation. He is able to play both genders rather convincingly, and if I held up a picture of him to you without telling you who it is, you'd swear it was a woman. It's a combination of great make-up work and Lone's rather underrated skill to fully embrace the mannerisms of his role (see my praise of his work on 'Iceman' for more), playing up the submissive and ethereal qualities often tied to Oriental women, that make this performance so effective.
Everything else is par for the course: Cronenburg is a slick director and keeps the film trundling along at a good pace, the production values are lovely and give you the full scope of a changing China, and Howard Shore's score is suitably moving yet also enigmatic and does incorporate Puccini's 'Madam Butterfly' in at points, mainly towards the end. However, it's the script itself that does fall a little short: it's paced a little too quickly, and some scenes feel really condensed and choppy just to accommodate a film runtime, especially with regards to the relationship between our two leads, as well as the bigger changes in China. It some times feel a little to quick, and doesn't quite have the emotional punch it wants to. It's not bad, just a little deflated.
Despite that, I was pleasantly surprised by what is one of Cronenburg's lesser known titles, and it's worth checking out as a curio and for some great performances.
Perhaps a little condensed from its original form, and not as visceral as Cronenburg's more famous works, 'M. Butterfly' still provides a well-produced and emotional tale of love, belief & deception. The key driving force of the film is really our two leads, with Irons being predictably solid as the typical middle class man of the era, though Lone is easily the bigger revelation. He is able to play both genders rather convincingly, and if I held up a picture of him to you without telling you who it is, you'd swear it was a woman. It's a combination of great make-up work and Lone's rather underrated skill to fully embrace the mannerisms of his role (see my praise of his work on 'Iceman' for more), playing up the submissive and ethereal qualities often tied to Oriental women, that make this performance so effective.
Everything else is par for the course: Cronenburg is a slick director and keeps the film trundling along at a good pace, the production values are lovely and give you the full scope of a changing China, and Howard Shore's score is suitably moving yet also enigmatic and does incorporate Puccini's 'Madam Butterfly' in at points, mainly towards the end. However, it's the script itself that does fall a little short: it's paced a little too quickly, and some scenes feel really condensed and choppy just to accommodate a film runtime, especially with regards to the relationship between our two leads, as well as the bigger changes in China. It some times feel a little to quick, and doesn't quite have the emotional punch it wants to. It's not bad, just a little deflated.
Despite that, I was pleasantly surprised by what is one of Cronenburg's lesser known titles, and it's worth checking out as a curio and for some great performances.