Review of City Lights (2014) by Brett C — 10 May 2014

Review In A Nutshell:

City Lights would be the first time I have ever watched a silent film; The Artist doesn't count as that film was more of a throwback product rather than something that lived within the era.

The film was written by Charles Chaplin. Since I haven't seen any of his other films, so I can't really give this film a proper comparison. City Lights' story is about a tramp, who stumbles upon two people that would affect his life, a blind woman who sells flowers to earn a living and a wealthy man who is incredibly wealthy but has personal issues that leads him to excessively drink, contemplate and attempt suicide. The film explores themes of love, life, kindness, compassion, friendship, and social status. The film's protagonist is a man who doesn't have a home and wonders around the city with no sense of real direction, but one thing he is sure of is that even when things are rough, life is still worth living. City Lights show the difference of values between the overly rich and the struggling poor. The two people that our protagonist meets are of within these two classes. The film depicts the rich society to be "living" through possessions, which is really sad to see but definitely true. The poor on the other hand lived through feeling emotions and be in the company of loved ones, but this doesn't mean they don't have any issues as life necessities are still hard to come by and something like a minor illness can put someone bed bound for a couple of days, ergo no income. Though the tramp penniless himself, he has a sense of self-worth. The seems to be between both worlds, seeing and comparing the life of two different people, yet he doesn't show any judgement and compassionately aid both strangers because the film depicts the Tramp as the type of person that we citizens should try and reach for.

City Lights was the first film I have seen that was directed by Charles Chaplin. Chaplin balances both the film's slapstick comedy and endearing romance quite well but though both are well balanced, both are also equally underwhelming in execution. Half of the film's comedic gags were trying a bit too hard to have the audience laugh. But when the gags do hit, they hit hard; It took me a while to stop laughing at the boxing sequence, but maybe because I have always been fascinated with the sport of boxing. The film's romance was entertaining and emotionally charged but it never seems to amount to anything significant. The film's pacing was nicely handled, moving at a brisk pace, giving both stories with the blind girl and wealthy drunk man equal times.

The film features great black and white photography and a very memorable score. I don't really want to get into much detail because I personally feel like another re-watch is necessary in order for me to properly review the film's photography and musical score.

The film's acting was top notch, with a great performance from Charles Chaplin. He was able to balance both the character's comedic and emotional tendencies. Chaplin is a wonderful physical actor and very committed in having scenes in becoming impactful. Virginia Cherrill as the blind woman and Harry Myers as the rich man were also wonderful to watch, though neither came off as effective as Chaplin did.

City Lights was a great introduction for me into the art of silent films. I look forward in trying out more of Charles Chaplin films, and after that maybe give filmmakers like Buster Keaton and Carl Theodor Dreyer a go.