Charlie Chaplin is often regarded as a comic genius, a notion that I very much agree with. I have yet to see a film of Chaplin’s that I haven’t enjoyed (although, I have only seen a few). While I feel that it may be incredibly difficult to do the character of Charlie Chaplin justice, I felt that no one could have done a better job than Robert Downey Jr. (especially at such a young age—approximately twenty-seven).
I found it to be outstanding that Geraldine Chaplin (Charlie’s daughter) was cast to play Hannah Chaplin (Charlie’s mother). She, being as close as she was to Charlie, even made a comment about how fantastically Downey Jr. portrayed her father. To have that come from a descendant of the man speaks volumes to Downey Jr’s. acting ability. Even more than his acting ability, his British accent was phenomenal; not once during the course of this film did I hear the accent falter. I thought the story was fantastic and it truly was interesting from beginning to end; the way the film was structured, however, was interesting. The way in which this film was framed reminded me of Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane.” While the character of Chaplin was not dead while the film was taking place (like Welles’ Kane), he was old and, in many ways, separated from the film industry by the time his story was told.
The story is told from the point of view of Chaplin (as an old man) while being interviewed by Anthony Hopkins’ George Hayden (making even more of a connection between this film and “Citizen Kane” with the use of interviews to help the story progress). Again, similar to Orson Welles’ Kane, in “Citizen Kane,” we see Chaplin grow from a very young boy, through adulthood and into a senior citizen, truly looking into every major event throughout the course of his life. I had no idea, prior to this film, how many issues Chaplin had to endure throughout the course of his life. From complications regarding his mother, to paternity issues, to issues with minors that he brought on himself, his life was rough to say the least. For Chaplin, after all of this, to be as famous and productive as he was is nothing short of incredible. Even though Chaplin wasn’t exactly a model citizen, one has to commend him on his will and his drive towards success in an industry that hadn’t long been established at his point of entry. One also has to commend the man on his ability to stand strong and his refusal to budge when it came to his films. The most fascinating portion of the film was when Chaplin and his friends/co-workers traveled from place to place to avoid the police. It was interesting due to the fact that it was filmed in a fashion similar to that of Chaplin’s actual films, with seemingly sped up movement and slapstick-esque comedy.
The ending was perfectly symbolic of his life; while his life wasn’t perfect, it ended the way he wanted and the way he deserved it to end. This film is one of the more well done films I’ve ever seen. From acting (I can’t possibly give Downey Jr. the praise he deserves), the cinematography and the story, this film perfectly captured the life of Chaplin and everything he stood for—both good and bad.
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