Drama. Mathieu Amalric, Anne Consigny, Olatz Lopez Garmendia, Marie-Joseé Croze.

Julian Schnabel's bold and audacious adaptation of the best-selling memoir, written for the screen by Ronald Harwood (The Pianist), is the work of a visionary.

It is shot from the perspective of Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Almaric), the vivacious editor of French fashion bible Elle, who suffers a stroke and wakes from a coma to find he is "locked in" his paralysed body.

His only means of communication is by blinking his one good eye.

A caring speech therapist (Marie-Josee Croze) works closely with Bauby to develop a crude yet effective system of eye movements to dictate sentences one letter at a time.

Schnabel shoots the first segment literally through Bauby's eyes, occasional bursts of black representing each blink as the editor contends with his hellish predicament.

A scene in which a surgeon sows up his right eye is horrific: we see the needle piercing the lids as the skin is slowly drawn together, closing one portal to the outside world.

Tour-de-force direction is complemented by dazzling performances, not least Almaric as the bon viveur and womaniser determined that his voice should be heard.