CHAPLIN
A film review by Afroditi Michailidi
Copyright 1992 Afroditi Michailidi
CHAPLIN is the long awaited film about the life of Charlie Chaplin. Directed by Richard Attenborough and with a host of stars including Robert Downey, Jr., Kevin Kline, Anthony Hopkins and Geraldine Chaplin (Chaplin's real life daughter who, in a twist, plays his mother), this film sets out to be the very definition of epic biography, pure and simple. It almost succeeds.
The problem is, it tries too hard. I found some of the scenes too loaded for my tastes. At times I was almost glad the director was constricted by real life events and could not use all of the plot devices he otherwise might have. And, my feeling is, some of the material was not epic to begin with -- that might well be my serious gripe with this film.
The movie is of epic length too, being over two hours and twenty minutes long. I found it slow in developing. On the other hand, I do not think that cutting any of the introduction would improve it; the film carries you along little by little until you are engulfed and immersed in its tale; only by detailing as many events as possible can it achieve that effect.
Don't get me wrong. It is a good film and one of the best I have seen lately. Based loosely on Chaplin's autobiography, the film works on two levels: one is following Chaplin from his early years throughout his career, while the second one shows Chaplin as an old man conferring with his biographer (the only fictional character in the movie, existing purely as a narrative device). This dichotomy was at first jarring, since you get pulled in and out of the timeline -- but in the end, it works too; Attenborough is no novice.
Robert Downey, Jr., does a wonderful job as Chaplin. I even began to think of him as Chaplin midway through the film. The supporting cast is excellent too, particularly Kevin Kline as Douglas Fairbanks.
Bonus points for the ending -- it is really the stuff that cinema is made of.
In conclusion, I found this to be a very good and entertaining film, although dragging in some places. A masterpiece it is not, which is rather disappointing considering the cast, director and script material. However, the film makes up for it, if only for its ending. I'd rate it a 9- on my personal scale, i.e., recommended with some reservations.
[quick reference chart [recent movies: THE BODYGUARD 5-, ALADDIN 8.5, ZENTROPA 10- [all time faves: ZOO & THE ELEMENT OF CRIME 10- [rock bottom: LIQUID SKY 0
Afroditi
-- michaili@cs.wisc.edu
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