Review of Chapter 27 (2007) by Chris S — 26 Nov 2008

Chapter 27 is a story that delves deep into the mind of Mark David Chapman, the infamous murderer of John Lennon. Taking an approach that is nearly akin to De Niro's performance as Travis Binkle in Taxi Driver, Jared Leto (who goes beyond the call of duty by actually gaining a ton of weight to portray the portly Chapman convincingly) gives us a remarkable, and intensely creepy tour of the mind workings and mannerisms of a man who was hanging on the balance between normalcy and sheer insanity.

Leading up to the infamous moment, I found myself cringing at what was to come, regardless of how familiar I was with the ultimate outcome. I felt as though, at any moment, Chapman was going to change his mind (as he often pondered) before doing the deed.

Lindsay Lohan and Judah Friedlander provide additional supporting roles as a fellow fan and photographer respectively who Chapman tries desperately to initiate a friendship with in order to pre-occupy himself from doing the deed, but to no avail.

Chapter 27 winds up being a very small, yet subtly disturbing film that I enjoyed watching, especially after initially not knowing much about John Lennon's killer. This role is easily one of the greatest performances that Jared Leto has ever accomplished.

I hope more people notice this film. Also, thank you filmmakers for keeping Lohan in this movie as little as possible.