Skip to main content

Chaplin (1992)

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Chaplin. Feature film. (1992, 143 mins) IMDB

...An ambitious film...

I

watched this movie once before, probably in the mid-1990s, and it stuck with me--at least the film as a whole and certain aspects of the film. I know I enjoyed it then and I enjoyed it again.

If you were to break the film up into three acts it would be as follows. Act I deals with the young, unknown Chaplin growing up in England. Act II deals with his move to the US and his fame and fortune. The women in his life. The trouble with the FBI and Hoover. Act III deals with his exile to Switzerland when he couldn't return to the US. Hey, they thought he was a communist and a jew.

It climaxes with his appearance at the Academy Awards in the early 1970s. Titles at the end tells he died at age 88 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth.

That's the overall structure of the film and it's ambitious to want to cover the entire life of a man, but they do. At least the dramatic bits of his life. I'm sure there are many things that could have been used.

Downey gives a career defining performance. It's a demanding role with that ranges from pratfalls to tears.

Aykroyd gives a memorable performance as Max Sennett.

If you step out of the room to check your email, you'll miss seeing the lovely Marisa Tormei.

The film definitely gives a sense of the zany style of comedy prevalent during the silent era. Some of it recreated for this film, some clips from actual films. In one scene in Utah, the characters (Chaplin and his crew) play out a scene as if they were in a silent movie and it's delightful to watch.

There is another aspect of the structure that adds to the film. It's the 1960s. An old Chaplin has written his autobiography and an editor has come to ask him questions, to clarify and add details about his life. These questions and answers serve as exposition and segue ways into the recreation of his life that is the film. As the film progresses, we get brief interludes with Chaplin and the editor. It helps to clarify the significance of moments in the film, exposition, but it works.

Posted 2009/03/12 at 20h18ET in Movie Commentary.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Piece of the Action (1977)

Saturday, March 7, 2009 A Piece of the Action. Feature film. (1977, 135 mins) IMDB ... Who would you have over for dinner? Sidney Poitier or Bill Cosby. ... A PIECE OF THE ACTION is the third film starring Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier. Poitier also directed the films. (And yes, I would be fascinating to have both them sitting around a table for dinner.) We're in Chicago and I love the setup for this film. It's clever, fun and interesting. It starts during the dark of night. Crosby is a cat burglar robbing a vault in a bank. He's by himself, all the tools he needs, and doesn't speak a word of dialogue for at least the first twenty minutes of the film. It must have been killing him. His robbery goes off successfully. (It includes a jump from a six or seven story window. There was a similar scene in their earlier films.) When the cops arrive during the daylight, they haven't a clue and we catch a glimpse of James Earl Jones as a detect...
Post a Comment
Read more

If Only We Could Agree

Monday, June 11, 2012 ... have you been accused of misspelling a word you know is correct ... S usanne O’Leary wrote an interesting article on her experience with the variations of the English language in different countries. You know the obvious ones like colour with or without a “u” but less obvious ones like travelled versus traveled. Growing up in Sweden she learnt English in school—the UK variation. In publishing her books, she read reviews where she was criticized for improper spelling. False accusations as it turns out. While I write tire and cozy, it’s not incorrect to write tyre or cosy. Same language. Both accepted. Just different. You can read her write-up here along with the numerous comments posted by readers. I found it interesting, but that’s me. As a Canadian I deal with this issue everyday. I feel her pain when she’s criticized for something based on ignorance. No fun. I was told by a boss that “data are” isn’t correct. It should be “data is.” Read...
2 comments
Read more

No Reservations (2007)

Saturday, May 2, 2009 No Reservations. Feature film. (2007, 104 mins) IMDB ... I so much wanted to like this film but couldn't ... T his film had two things I like a great deal: romance and cooking, but they didn't come together for me in this film. I think I know why. The female lead doesn't strike me as a romantic leading lady. That's just me. I also found the story line stale and uninteresting. Our hero lives in NYC working at a fine dining restaurant where she is the chef and dictator. Everything about her life is about cooking. Nothing else seems to matter. No children. No relationships. Then her life is kicked apart. Her sister and niece travel to visit her but before they arrive, there's an accident. The mother dies and little Zoe has to live with her aunt. Our hero struggles to include a new person into her life but what follows is so predictable as to be boring. To add even more complications to our hero's life, her sous...
Post a Comment
Read more