Review of Chaplin (2011) by Brian S — 08 Sep 2014

Adapting the life of one of Hollywood's first onscreen stars, the Silent-Era king of slapstick comedy Charlie Chaplin, into a big studio production makes a whole ton of sense with 1992s (Oscar Bait) biopic Chaplin.

The production is grand, the cast impressively large, spearheaded with fine (if predictable) directing and all tied together via a classic story structure trope that will pull at the heart strings-an old Chaplin reminiscing about his life and speaking aloud for it to visualize in flashback-leaves nothing in the film feeling necessarily new, but it is executed well.

Robert Downey Jr.'s performance of the charismatic Charlie (both young and old) is consistent across the lifetime he portrays him. Although Downey Jr. has the "look" of Chaplin-eerily channeling the former Vaudevillian when dressed in the classic "Tramp" costume to perfection-he unfortunately lacks the bodily flexibility that made the original Chaplin so enduring and funny.

It wouldn't be as apparent if it weren't for scenes of Chaplin's actual films being shown. The contrast between the "real" Chaplin and Downey Jr. "acting" as Chaplin sticks out and one wonders why they didn't just re-create many of the scenes they show.

This aside, part of the attraction of the film is to see Chaplin's thinking process and how it manifested on screen, showing that he was a visionary and a pioneer in the (literal) Wild West of moviemaking.

Many of the things he went through in life become the catalyst of his inspirations-immigration being one of them, women another-but the way it is executed is problematic. The film merely teases what the real Chaplin struggled with; gifting him resolutions without much conflict.

A problem is gone and replaced with a solution as often as Charlie has a new love interest beside him. As we see these glimpses of inspiration and drama, it is quickly shined over by some Hollywoodland glitz and glamour, resulting in Chaplin feeling like a Tinseltown fairytale.

Although the film doesn't present the gravitas of consequence (like being banned from the United States for example), it is still an effective journey through the eyes of someone who just wanted to make people laugh and dream.

When the lights turn on and the audience begin to leave the theater, Chaplin won't live up to its namesake's legacy, but for a peek into one of Hollywood's most esteemed individuals, you wouldn't expect it to be any less glamorous than Hollywood itself-a place where dreams are made of.