Geraldine
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
lasttimeisaw
Sir. Richard Attenborough's cradle-to-grave, rags-to-riches biopic of Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) is anything but a hagiography, and should be more appositely re-titled as CHAPLIN AND HIS WOMEN, since the meat of this lofty work sees Charlie (Downey Jr.) gyrating from one wife to another (four in toto plus other conquests), meanwhile the more intriguing facet of his cinematic creative process is ruefully taken a back seat. It is a warts-and-all treatment, yet somehow overreaches itself on the "warts" department, Chaplin is repeatedly portrayed as a love fool who cannot overcome his sexual predilection of younger girls (viz. jailbait), starting from his first crush Hetty Kelly (Moira Kelly), to first wife Mildred Harris (a barely 16-year-old Milla Jovovich striking the bull's eye of the ingénue seduction with flaming lips), an ill-fated union with the independent Paulette Goddard (a classy Lane), until his last spouse Oona O'Neill (Kelly again to finish the circle), a none-too-subtle way of intimating that the right one is actually the one who gets away, which to a certain degree, cunningly shifts the blame on Hetty, the undertone seems to suggest that if she had accepted Chaplin's marriage proposal before he would put his name on the map in the celluloid boom town, his subsequent failed marriages would have no place in the history, a low move that hurts the film's integrity. Plus, save for her physical resemblance, we have no inkling why Oona is the one for keeps because Attenborough never shed any lights on her story (although Kelly is game enough to take on the dual role with slight discrepancy). The frame narrative is actually set in Switzerland where an aging Chaplin discusses his biography at length with a fictive writer George Hayden (Hopkins), the tactic doesn't quite work out, not just because Downey Jr.'s somewhat unconvincing warpaint (he looks rather hale beside Hopkins and the sparks in his eyes cannot disguise his real age of 26), but also it is padding out the story, only to prepare audience for the coda when Chaplin is given an overdue gong in the 1972 Academy Award ceremony for a special Lifetime Achievement, with footage of Chaplin's films playing to make the most of one's nostalgic admiration, but the emotional punch never packs, after 140 minutes, we still have a very indeterminate image of Charlie Chaplin, is he a Communist? Why he doesn't apply for a USA citizenship after years in Hollywood and once being rejected for his assumed political orientation, it cuts an unrecoverable wound in his exile days, it contradicts with his apparent belief of the land of freedom and opportunity. All those questions are posed but not satisfactorily answered, maybe one should read his biography instead. But in the end of the day, CHAPLIN has its inherent edge, it is a film about the king of comedy, so at the very least, it is never tedious on the eyes, not with a charismatic Robert Downey Jr. fleetly mimicking the tramp's slapstick (he makes them look as effortless as Chaplin himself) and conscientiously emanating Charlie's more subdued affect when he has his own hurdles to grapple with, may it be the resistance to the sound cinema, or a bigoted lawsuit from his former lover Joan Barry (Travis). It is also noteworthy that Geraldine Chaplin plays Hannah Chaplin, Charlie's head-case mother and her own grandmother with great affection, which prompts the inference that perhaps there is a hardwired monkey wrench in the works could be partially but potentially answerable for Charlie's personal conflicts between his genius and frailties.
Helio
This is film of great performances. Robert Downey Jr is incredible as Charlie Chaplin. Kevin Kline is an excellent Douglas Fairbanks. Geraldine Ctaplin is splendid playing her own grandmother. Maria Pitillo has too small a role as Mary Pickford. It is one of Milla Jovovich's early roles when she was sixteen but looks older. Kevin Dunne is persuasive as J Edgar Hoover. Dan Akroyd is his annoying self as Mack Sennet. Diane Lane offers up a compelling Paulette Goddard. James Wood is a grating lawyer. David Duchovny and Marisa Tomei also have roles. Downey was rightfully nominated for an oscar for his role but lost out to Al Pacino (in Scent of a Woman).The telling of the story was interrupted with irritating scenes of Chaplin discussing his autobiography with his publisher. It seems these might be ways around parts of the biography that were unclear or left out.The film offered glimpses into the silent era of Hollywood and documented some of the tribulations that Charlie Chaplin encountered in his life. Like any movie it couldn't do justice to a fifty year career but was a remarkable effort.
Robae Williams
Before I watched this film, I knew that Charlie Chaplin was a famous actor during the 1910s and 20s. I also recognized him in a few movies like "The Great Dictator". I also knew he had a strange mustache. I didn't know a lot about Chaplin's personal life. I didn't know he went through many difficult times. I learned a lot about him through watching this movie. I found out that he had three wives, all which were very young. I also found out he didn't have the best childhood because his mother was going crazy. Although it was very interesting, it wasn't enjoyable because it didn't have enough information. I felt that it wasn't goofy and funny enough as well. There also times where there was dialogue which lasted to long and felt boring. To conclude, "Chaplin" was a decent movie but could have some adjustments to help it be better
nicholls_les
Richard Attenborough does a brilliant job of bringing Charlie Chaplin to the screen in a wonderful biopic. It captures the genius of Chaplain and sets the right tone for the time it was depicting.Robert Downey Jr really deserved an Oscar for this.Apart from Jamie Foxx' near perfect depiction of Ray Charles in Ray, Robert Downey Jr does one of the best acting jobs portraying such a well known person.All the supporting cast are also excellent and although this is a long movie I never once get bored while watching it.It is rare to find a fairly recent movie that could be termed a classic, but Chaplin is one of those films.
