Review of Modern Times (1936) by Matt M — 11 Aug 2017

At the time of its release, Chaplin's reputation as a filmmaking genius had been well established, and his popularity with audiences and critics alike was no news to anyone. Yet, it must have seemed more than a little rebellious when Chaplin released Modern Times, a silent film, while talkies were already intent in taking cinemas by storm.

In retrospective, of course, Modern Times provided not only the most wonderful final send off for the character of The Tramp, the character which had brought his maker to unparalleled fame, but also for silent films as a whole, particularly with that unforgettable final shot of the tramp and the homeless girl walking from foreground to background towards a beautiful sunset.

Forgetting all its historical symbolism as well as the usual sweet hearted poetry, Modern Times is as much a hilarious slapstick comedy as it is a hard edged satire on the ridiculousness and futility of mechanical advancements in the modern world, something which went quite the opposite way from the trend of industrialisation of the start of the twentieth century.

Then again, Chaplin was never known to have gone with the flow, whereas his final silent film has a charm that has inspired many more films which followed it.