Review of Monsieur Verdoux (1947) by Michael H — 23 Nov 2011

An underrated masterpiece of cinema. This film really has it all, it contains practically all the ingredients that films require to be great. There's a peculiar tone in almost every aspect, and it's all carried by an outstanding work of direction by one of the greatest geniuses in film history: Charles Chaplin, who also of course plays the title role, which is one of the most fascinating characters I've seen in a film... the guy is a murderer (a psychopath maybe) but his true nature is very far from that, he's in some way a hero, a role model, a representative of the world society and a man who speaks for all of us; but also it's a common man, and despite the things he does (everything decorated by a fantastic dark comedy, with some touches of physical comedy), easily anyone could identify with him. The cast was fantastic in general. The narration was perfect, so many parallel storylines with one character in common (changing his identity), but the film is incredibly easy to follow and connect with. The score (composed by Chaplin) was very good too, perfect for this unique film. Almost every scene is absolutely memorable, filled with Chaplin's trademark humanism and sensibility, but without losing the dark tone of the movie.

It was the eight work I've seen of Chaplin (7 films and a short), and this is the 4th that is added to my list of favorite films, though I really liked the other 3 too. A superb masterpiece that deserves a lot of more recognition, and to be considered one of Chaplin's absolute best (along with City Lights, Modern Times, The Gold Rush, The Great Dictator,...). But no matter that, I loved it, and for me it's a undisputed masterpiece. There's so much of Chaplin I still got to see, and surely there must be a bunch of great films (or shorts) expecting to delight me with the incredible talent of that little man called Charles Chaplin.