It may appear superfluous to remark that more than a mere 143 minutes are required for if the life of Charles Chaplin is to be dramatized successfully on film. Chaplin, who passed away at the age of eighty-eight, not only witnessed and experienced the enormous changes which took place during the twentieth century, both in cultural, sociological and technological ways, but he himself actually turned out to become one of the most influential personalities of his own time. Director Richard Attenborough, no doubt, understood this when he set out to make the film CHAPLIN, having been a huge fan of the comedian since childhood. However, although responsible for a reported amount of four hours of footage, Attenborough was seemingly forced to cut the film down considerably. As a result, the finished film is a mixed experience; but there certainly are good things to be found in it, as well.
Inevitably, many candidates turned up with the hope of playing Chaplin, but the one that apparently possessed "that special something," was a young Robert Downey, Jr. His performance has received unanimous praise through the years, and made him an Academy Award nomination. Indeed, there is no doubt that Downey did a phenomenal job; I cannot imagine anyone doing it better than him. Having been trained by first-rate pantomimist Dan Kamin, Downey nails the character of the Tramp quite well; and he deserves all possible praise for handling the many emotional situations in Chaplin's life so convincingly. Yet, I must admit that to me personally, Downey doesn't really resemble Chaplin, certainly not physically and his voice is so distinctively different that it somewhat affects the credibility of his general appearance in the film as well. I don't mean these words to be insults, because as said, I can't think of anyone doing it better than him; but I don't quite believe he truly IS Charlie Chaplin, in the same way that I may be fooled to believe that Ben Kingsley truly IS Ghandi.
The rest of the cast is generally excellent; particularly Chaplin's eldest daughter Geraldine delivers a convincing, sensitive portrayal of her own grandmother (and also a quite distressing one, considering the pain this poor woman had to suffer in her life). Dan Aykord's portrayal of producer Mack Sennett (the one who first hired Chaplin in films) may seem to be a caricature, but this is not necessarily in conflict with how many of Sennett's associates remembered the man; Aykord behaves just the way I would've expected Sennett to do, based on interviews I've read with the man and his autobiography. Kevin Kline is also worthy of great praise, bringing silent era playboy Douglas Fairbanks to life in a charming performance. One reason why several of the portrayals of Chaplin's associates work so well, may be that they are surrounded by such authentic sets; Geraldine Chaplin expressed in an interview that a shock came over her as she witnessed her father's studio being rebuilt, "exactly as it was." No less successfully have the home quarters of Chaplin's childhood, in the slums of the late-Victorian era, been reconstructed.
Unfortunately, all these rewarding aspects of the film are somewhat haltered by the feeling that they could have been used to greater effect, and more thoroughly, than what we see in the finished film. Clearly, the film has suffered from the large cuts which Attenborough was forced to make, as there is a nail thin structure to talk about; several of the incidents that occur in the film would, I imagine, be difficult to understand to anyone not that familiar with the life of Chaplin. Much like the more recent film about Nelson Mandela and the circumstances around Apartheid, GOODBYE, BAFANA, we are, with CHAPLIN, given an opportunity to see the most central aspects of the life of a famous person being brought to life with authenticity, but without the length required in order to analyze or even fairly explain these aspects. The scene changes from one period of Chaplin's life to another without really exploring any of them, and leaving out many high-points of his life and career; for instance, Chaplin's making of the Mutual-films, which many consider to be his noblest work, is barely referred to. Furthermore, the film suffers from factual errors, some of which may be forgiven for the sake of dramatic effect, but they are also often annoying as many viewers are likely to take his film thoroughly as fact. For instance, when Chaplin receives a telegram from the Keystone studio, inviting him to join the medium of films, he appears quite amazed; in his autobiography, Chaplin admitted that he had been rather disappointed with the telegram, as the Keystone-films had not impressed him. Most disturbing of all is how certain characters are portrayed, particularly Mabel Normand and Chaplin's brother Sydney. Mabel and Chaplin did have a fight at a set early on, but what is not mentioned in the film is that they reconciled shortly afterwards, and remained friends thereafter. In the film, Mabel comes across as quite unsympathetic, which is not synonymous with the sweet- natured (and talented) girl most of her associates remembered. Even more disturbing is how Sydney Chaplin is presented; Sydney was generally very supportive of Charlie and his artistic decisions, yet this film claims otherwise. Nothing I've read about Chaplin (and I've done my research through the years) indicates that Sydney ever tried to convince his brother not to make THE GREAT DICTATOR.
Despite several short-comings, CHAPLIN is worth to watch due to some memorable performances, as well as the many handsome, authentic sets. And, in case I forgot to mention it, the musical score by John Barry is magnificent, beautiful beyond the spoken word, among my favorite soundtracks of all time. However, to anyone seriously interested in Chaplin, I'd rather recommend David Robinson's highly informative biography on the man (or the comedian's own memoirs), or to watch Kevin Brownlow and David Gill's brilliant documentary UNKNOWN CHAPLIN.
Inevitably, many candidates turned up with the hope of playing Chaplin, but the one that apparently possessed "that special something," was a young Robert Downey, Jr. His performance has received unanimous praise through the years, and made him an Academy Award nomination. Indeed, there is no doubt that Downey did a phenomenal job; I cannot imagine anyone doing it better than him. Having been trained by first-rate pantomimist Dan Kamin, Downey nails the character of the Tramp quite well; and he deserves all possible praise for handling the many emotional situations in Chaplin's life so convincingly. Yet, I must admit that to me personally, Downey doesn't really resemble Chaplin, certainly not physically and his voice is so distinctively different that it somewhat affects the credibility of his general appearance in the film as well. I don't mean these words to be insults, because as said, I can't think of anyone doing it better than him; but I don't quite believe he truly IS Charlie Chaplin, in the same way that I may be fooled to believe that Ben Kingsley truly IS Ghandi.
The rest of the cast is generally excellent; particularly Chaplin's eldest daughter Geraldine delivers a convincing, sensitive portrayal of her own grandmother (and also a quite distressing one, considering the pain this poor woman had to suffer in her life). Dan Aykord's portrayal of producer Mack Sennett (the one who first hired Chaplin in films) may seem to be a caricature, but this is not necessarily in conflict with how many of Sennett's associates remembered the man; Aykord behaves just the way I would've expected Sennett to do, based on interviews I've read with the man and his autobiography. Kevin Kline is also worthy of great praise, bringing silent era playboy Douglas Fairbanks to life in a charming performance. One reason why several of the portrayals of Chaplin's associates work so well, may be that they are surrounded by such authentic sets; Geraldine Chaplin expressed in an interview that a shock came over her as she witnessed her father's studio being rebuilt, "exactly as it was." No less successfully have the home quarters of Chaplin's childhood, in the slums of the late-Victorian era, been reconstructed.
Unfortunately, all these rewarding aspects of the film are somewhat haltered by the feeling that they could have been used to greater effect, and more thoroughly, than what we see in the finished film. Clearly, the film has suffered from the large cuts which Attenborough was forced to make, as there is a nail thin structure to talk about; several of the incidents that occur in the film would, I imagine, be difficult to understand to anyone not that familiar with the life of Chaplin. Much like the more recent film about Nelson Mandela and the circumstances around Apartheid, GOODBYE, BAFANA, we are, with CHAPLIN, given an opportunity to see the most central aspects of the life of a famous person being brought to life with authenticity, but without the length required in order to analyze or even fairly explain these aspects. The scene changes from one period of Chaplin's life to another without really exploring any of them, and leaving out many high-points of his life and career; for instance, Chaplin's making of the Mutual-films, which many consider to be his noblest work, is barely referred to. Furthermore, the film suffers from factual errors, some of which may be forgiven for the sake of dramatic effect, but they are also often annoying as many viewers are likely to take his film thoroughly as fact. For instance, when Chaplin receives a telegram from the Keystone studio, inviting him to join the medium of films, he appears quite amazed; in his autobiography, Chaplin admitted that he had been rather disappointed with the telegram, as the Keystone-films had not impressed him. Most disturbing of all is how certain characters are portrayed, particularly Mabel Normand and Chaplin's brother Sydney. Mabel and Chaplin did have a fight at a set early on, but what is not mentioned in the film is that they reconciled shortly afterwards, and remained friends thereafter. In the film, Mabel comes across as quite unsympathetic, which is not synonymous with the sweet- natured (and talented) girl most of her associates remembered. Even more disturbing is how Sydney Chaplin is presented; Sydney was generally very supportive of Charlie and his artistic decisions, yet this film claims otherwise. Nothing I've read about Chaplin (and I've done my research through the years) indicates that Sydney ever tried to convince his brother not to make THE GREAT DICTATOR.
Despite several short-comings, CHAPLIN is worth to watch due to some memorable performances, as well as the many handsome, authentic sets. And, in case I forgot to mention it, the musical score by John Barry is magnificent, beautiful beyond the spoken word, among my favorite soundtracks of all time. However, to anyone seriously interested in Chaplin, I'd rather recommend David Robinson's highly informative biography on the man (or the comedian's own memoirs), or to watch Kevin Brownlow and David Gill's brilliant documentary UNKNOWN CHAPLIN.