Review of Chaplin (1992) by Dawdlingpoet — 21 Nov 2021

The first impression I had of this film was that Robert Downey Jnr's supposedly British accent which is featured at the start of the film was less than impressive, to put it mildly. I liked the orchestrated type music played in the background of various flashback scenes. It definitely has that 'Hollywood magic' type feel to it, thanks in part to the orchestral, instrumental music and the portrayal of Chaplin as the on screen caricature, with his visual slapstick cartoonishness etc.

Its part serious and part comedic and I enjoyed both aspects of it. I was pleased to see Dan Akyroyd features as Mack Sennett, a Hollywood film director who hires him from the UK. Also present as a sort of narrator, talking to the aging Chaplin and sometimes shown on screen is a man called George Hayden, an editor working with Chaplin on the writing of his biography - he's played by Anthony Hopkins.

I thought it was interesting to see things from a social history point of view, in terms of how popular silent films were at the time, how the industry worked and how Chaplin rose to fame etc. all of which aren't things I can profess to know a great deal about.

I found it an insightful and entertaining watch and I'd recommend it to others.