Review of Chaplin (2011) by Scott A — 17 Apr 2013

I'm a man who didn't know the first thing about Charlie Chaplin before seeing Richard Attenborough's biopic, but it was easy for even me to see several flaws in Chaplin's structure and timeline.

Chaplin's structure begins as a narrated retelling of Chaplin's own life but it becomes inconsistent very soon and practically becomes pointless and tedious to the story.

Also, Chaplin is paced irregularly fast seems to just jump from one big event of Charlie Chaplin's life to another, and the events are commonly dramatised too much for the viewer to believe its a biopic and rather just a glossy story of a fictional eccentric fellow such as Barry Lyndon. That story element isn't appropriate to a biographical film about a man considered legendary.

Chaplin also takes liberties with many of the facts of Charlie Chaplin's life, including the fact that he thought cinema was only "a fad".

The thing that holds Chaplin together amidst the great musical score and contextually strong costumes and makeup is Robert Downey Jr.'s impeccable lead performance. Robert Downey Jr uses a convincing British accent that never slips away from him and becomes a convincing and consistent thing, and his immaculate physical talents which make the audience laugh as much as they would have if it was Charlie Chaplin himself. Robert Downey Jr. is practically a mirror of the real Charlie Chaplin in a performance as good as Daniel Day-Lewis when he played Abraham Lincoln in the 2012 Biopic Lincoln. Rarely is an actors physical talent this incredible, especially when faced with the difficulty of recreating such a legendary man. Robert Downey Jr.'s performance is unforgettable and should be as famous today as Charlie Chaplin himself.

So despite having its clunks, Richard Attenborough directs a good looking biopic with an artistic style to it, especially notable in the intro, and the entire experience is unforgettable thanks to a remarkable lead from Robert Downey Jr.