Chaplin

“To understand me, you have to watch my films.” -- Sir Charles Chaplin

Thirty-three years after his death, Charlie Chaplin remains a timeless iconic figure in the world of entertainment. As a filmmaker, actor, and producer, Chaplin was a pioneer in bringing a unique comedy style that was unmatched by any other comic actor. He possessed a canny ability to entertain the masses successfully and consistently with a tinge of sentimentality that was evident in films like “The Kid” (1921) and “City Lights” (1931). He was later associated in the premier comedy group heralded by Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton. The three comedians were truly the comedy geniuses of the silent era, although each had his own signature style that distinguished them. Some hailed Chaplin as the greatest comedian the world has ever seen. As a prolific filmmaker in the silent era, Chaplin churned out as many as sixty-seven films, with only five major films after the advent of the talkies. Being the biggest proponent of silent films, Chaplin never fully accepted the fact that technology made it possible to create spoken-dialogue films.

Rising from extreme poverty, Chaplin rose from the status of a small theater performer in the U.K. to a big Hollywood actor and director. Certainly, his ascent to stardom is like a fairy tale come true. He became rich fast, generated immense fame, but then gradually became inept in managing relationships that only resulted in failed marriages and scandals. As if bad marriages and broken relationships were not enough, Chaplin was also hounded by the F.B.I. on several charges. The F.B.I., headed by Edgar Hoover, wanted to lock up Chaplin on charges that included a statutory rape and advocating Communism in the U.S.  Indeed, things got worse for him after the release of “The Great Dictator” (1940).  In 1952, he was deported from the U.S., and he decided to spend rest of his life in Switzerland until his death in 1977.  After his deportation, he came to the U.S. only once (to receive a special Academy Award in 1973).

Director Richard Attenborough’s “Chaplin” (1992) precisely captures Chaplin’s life in the timeline specified above. Told as an autobiographical narration, “Chaplin” tries to cover a lot of ground in Chaplin’s life. In fact, the filmmakers use Chaplin’s book “My Autobiography” as the main source for presenting Chaplin’s real-life events for this film. Yet Attenborough’s take on Chaplin feels unfinished, emotionally detached, and so distant from Chaplin’s life that you are left to wonder if the end product could have been much better. As a biopic, “Chaplin” is detailed, but Attenborough wrongly chooses to focus on Chaplin’s failures. Of course, we are not talking about Chaplin’s filmmaking failures, but on his failed marriages, relationships, and sex life.  Nonetheless, all of this is distracting as it presents little in the way of what made Chaplin a great comedy showman.

The first half of the movie launches into Chaplin’s childhood days and how he performed on the stage for the first time. His first onstage performance and a later gig at a major local theater are presented to us as if the success came easily to Chaplin. Maybe it did. But I felt Attenborough deliberately sucked Chaplin’s poverty and struggles from of the equation. Instead, we get Attenborough’s clean version of life that is devoid of any life struggles. In chronicling Chaplin’s life, “Chaplin” succeeds, although it fails to connect emotionally.

Even the second half of the film is problematic. Chaplin arrives in California for his first performance in the U.S. Of course, everywhere Chaplin goes, he gets a job and impresses people. It’s hard not to see why girls won’t be attracted to Chaplin’s charismatic comic personality. Fame attracts all, and this is what we get in the entire second half. From one woman to the next, Chaplin goes on a sleeping binge, and I can only conclude that he was a womanizer. He flirts, then marries a woman, and eventually gets divorced. The cycle repeats with a number of women. Some of his affairs stirred-up controversies that almost destroyed his career. Filmmakers should have invested more time on building details on Chaplin’s filmmaking qualities and his workmanship behind the camera, and not just on capturing his tumultuous relationships with various women. As such, the narrative in the second-half goes nowhere.

It was a well-known fact that Chaplin never discussed his unique filmmaking style with others; for him, talking about his style was like revealing magic tricks before the show, something a magician is proud of. But now there is oodles of information from reliable sources that reveal his working style, his capabilities, and the secrets behind his filmmaking techniques. A three-part British documentary, “Unknown Chaplin,” discusses Chaplin’s working style, his craft, and his expertise behind the camera. We would have received a fuller view of all the facets of Chaplin’s life had the filmmakers gleaned information from multiple sources for this project.

So what elevates “Chaplin”? Robert Downey, Jr. plays the main character in the film, and he is absolutely absorbing in every scene. He aptly displays Chaplin’s bodily mannerisms; he walks and talks like Chaplin; and we thoroughly believe that he is Chaplin himself. Simply put, Downey perfectly embodies the character of the greatest American icon, Charlie Chaplin, a daunting task by all means. In 1992, his performance won him the BAFTA award for Best Actor along with an Oscar nomination in the Best Actor category. In the supporting cast, we have Sir Anthony Hopkins, Dan Aykroyd, Milla Jovovich, and Diane Lane, all of whom are serviceable in their roles, although their on-screen time is quite brief. On the technical side, the film’s production design perfectly captures the intricate period details.

However, in the supporting role, Kevin Kline playing the character of Douglas Fairbanks impressed me the most. In one thought-provoking segment on the immigrant population, Chaplin and Fairbanks discuss how they love America. But Fairbanks reminds Chaplin that it was time for him to pay back dues to his homeland. After all, the money and fame generated by Chaplin in the U.S. was attributed to his initial success in the U.K. The discussion delves deeper on an immigrant’s mentality concerning the concept of a homeland, and how people feel disconnected when they are detached from their motherland.

From Chaplin’s perspective, there is a significant moment in the film when we see him walking across a center where workers are waiting for work. Soon, the workers approach him to get an autograph. After signing, he ponders to himself if it would have been better had they asked for his money, instead. It’s a remarkable little scene that sheds lights on Chaplin’s conflicted response to the money and accolades he had received all his life. Even so, while America was reeling from the Great Depression, Chaplin continued to make money, and this troubled him a lot.

Nonetheless, I would have loved if the filmmakers had focused on creating deep and insightful moments like these. As a viewer, I was only left to cherish three quality moments in the film. And that does not say much for the film.

Video:

Lionsgate notes on the disc that this is a 15^th Anniversary Edition. This is misleading, as the film’s 15^th year would have been in 2007.  So I am guessing that Lionsgate has utilized the same transfer from the previous DVD that was released back in 2008. The film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and encoded using an AVC codec.

Overall, the transfer lacks depth and sharpness. The detail is inconsistent as it varies from scene to scene. The skin tones are true but lack vibrancy. More so, the transfer has a blurry appearance in several scenes. On the positive side, the outdoor scenes appear good, with consistent detailing and depth. The courtroom scene looks sharp, and the close-ups reveal enough detail.

Audio:

Lionsgate has included a 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio track. Being a dialogue-driven movie, the audio is comes primarily from the center channel. The dialogue is clear but a bit too harsh on several occasions. Otherwise the track performs well. Also included is the option to view the movie in English, Spanish, and French subtitles.

Extras:

For extras, we get three short interview segments. In the first segment, “Strolling into the Sunset,” Richard Attenborough discusses the character played by Robert Downey, Jr. He was surprised how well Downey represented the actual figure of Charlie Chaplin. He then talks about the final makeup scene, which took about six hours so that Chaplin’s old face can be shown convincingly. In the next two segments, “Chaplin the Hero” and “The Most Famous Man in the World,” Attenborough and critic Richard Schickel discuss Charlie Chaplin in real life, who according to them was a genius in his field.

Also, included is a Chaplin home movie titled “All at Sea,” along with an original theatrical trailer.

Parting Thoughts:

I might sound too harsh in my review of “Chaplin,” but that is because I expect much more from Lord Richard Attenborough. Even though there is adequate detail on Chaplin’s rapid rise to stardom, the spotlight is too much on his sex life. Unfortunately, the emotional connection to Charlie Chaplin is sorely missing, and as a result Attenborough’s portrait of Chaplin lacks depth and a needed story focus. Indeed, even after watching the movie, I was left to ask, What made Chaplin so great?  In spite of the missteps, for me the movie’s biggest asset was Downey’s engrossing and entertaining performance.  As for the this Blu-ray release, it’s a mixed bag that features an average transfer, an acceptable audio, and a handful of interview segments.