The first third of the film is told from the main character's, Jean-Dominique Bauby, or Jean-Do as his friends call him, first person perspective.

After an initial rather over-optimistic analysis from one doctor, a neurologist explains that he has locked-in syndrome, an extremely rare condition in which the patient is almost completely physically paralyzed, but remains mentally normal.

Gradually, the film's restricted point of view broadens out, and the viewer begins to see Bauby from "outside", in addition to experiencing incidents from his past, including a visit to Lourdes.

It is revealed that Bauby had been editor of the popular French fashion magazine Elle, and that he had a deal to write a book (which was originally going to be based on The Count of Monte Cristo but from a female perspective).

The new book explains what it is like to now be him, trapped in his body, which he sees as being suspended in impenetrably murky water within an old-fashioned deep-sea diving suit with brass helmet, which is called a scaphandre in French, as in the original title.

The film was eventually produced by Pathé and France 3 Cinéma in association with Banque Populaire Images 7 and the American Kennedy/Marshall Company and in participation with StudioCanal and CinéCinéma.

[11]Several key aspects of Bauby's personal life were fictionalized in the film, most notably his relationships with the mother of his children and his girlfriend.

Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 94%, based on reviews from 176 critics, and an average rating of 8.30/10, with the general consensus stated as, "Breathtaking visuals and dynamic performances make The Diving Bell and the Butterfly a powerful biopic.

[16] In 2024, Looper ranked it number 13 on its list of the "50 Best PG-13 Movies of All Time," writing "The restrictive nature of [Jean-Dominique] Bauby's condition could have daunted other filmmakers, but director Julian Schnabel managed to figure out the tiniest ways to convey this man's interior world.

Though Bauby may have thought his life was over once he was paralyzed, the critically-praised film of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly shows how truly alive this man's spirit was in the face of adversity.