Jared Leto, creepy and unnerving as Mark David
Chapman in "Chapter 27", directed by J.P. Schaefer. The film opened last
Friday at the Sundance Kabuki in San Francisco and is already playing in New
York and Los Angeles. (Photo: Peace Arch Entertainment)
THE POPCORN REEL FILM REVIEW/"Chapter 27"
Mark David Chapman's Twisted "Dream #9" Times
Three, With Self-Delusional Melodies
By Omar P.L. Moore/April 22, 2008
By Omar P.L. Moore/April 22, 2008
There has been much commotion and controversy
about J.P. Schaefer's "Chapter 27", which opened at the Sundance Kabuki
Cinemas in San Francisco last Friday. Some people have advocated a boycott
of the film saying (or at least assuming) that it serves as appraisal of
Mark David Chapman's assassination of John Lennon outside The Dakota at
Central Park West in New York City on December 8, 1980.
"Chapter 27", a somewhat over-directed feature film, is no more a glorification of Mr. Chapman than it is a portrait of an icon. The film, which features a chilling performance by Jared Leto as Mr. Chapman, is an almost-claustrophobic look at the last two and a half days of the killer's time moping around New York City prior to the slaying of one of the world's most beloved activist-musicians. "Chapter 27" neither condones nor condemns Mr. Chapman, rather it presents the deranged and deeply troubled assassin just as Mr. Leto plays him -- as a man of disturbing and contradictory crescendos, a self-righteous yet self-loathing creature who predates the hawkish and vulturistic appetites of the paparazzi, whom some believe were chiefly responsible the death of England's Princess Diana in Paris eleven years ago.
"Chapter 27" -- the title refers to the Chapter of John in the Bible -- hews faithfully to the horror raging inside Mr. Chapman's head as he camps outside The Dakota (the location of the film "Rosemary's Baby") waiting for a glimpse of Mr. Lennon. Much of the dialogue, particularly the opening and closing minutes of the film, are taken verbatim from Mr. Chapman's confessions to New York City police detectives who had interrogated him within a couple of hours after the shooting of the Beatle legend. The book The Catcher In The Rye, J.D. Salinger's tale of adolescent subversion which was banned by the BBC in the 1970's and several schools in the United States in the 1950's, is Mr. Chapman's constant companion, his raison d'etre, and the film's protagonist proclaims at the very start that he is the book's lead character Holden Caulfield.
Mr. Leto (who put on a "Raging Bull"-like 60-plus pounds for the role of Mr. Chapman,) renders him with a scorn, menace and aggrieved disposition that is damning in its severity and convincing in its percolation during the story. Mr. Leto never attempts to overplay the character, neither does he use the additional weight of the physicality of his character to taint or unduly impose on the performance. Mr. Leto successfully livens a malicious, lonely and misguided misanthropic creature and he is the sole reason to see a film which is neither horrible nor especially memorable.
The film's supporting players are hardly key or even essential to the story -- Lindsay Lohan shows up as Jude, an fellow autograph-seeking Lennon fan, but muddies the waters given her character's lack of New York City streetwise radar after encountering a creepy Mr. Chapman on several occasions -- which is utterly unbelievable, making her character in context and the film in general look ridiculous on occasion. For instance, why couldn't Miss Lohan's Jude see fit to get as far away from this disturbed morass as possible?? Instead, she donates a trusting heart. It's likely that nobody told her they'd be days like these.
While the question about Miss Lohan's Jude is left unanswered, the film is less ambiguous about its overall intentions: the showing of the outpouring of love for its fallen hero, Mr. Lennon. It is here however, where "Chapter 27" so desperately wants to have its cake and eat it too -- by doing a self-correction -- as if atoning for feeling guilty for letting its audience linger inside the mind of Mr. Chapman too long. "Chapter 27" falls on its own sword with this kind of reflexiveness, betraying its protagonist and failing to exhibit the boldness that Mr. Leto's industrious efforts to play a most unpopular figure surely would have required, given the abundant protest that the film has engendered.
"Chapter 27" is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for language and some sexual content. The film's duration is one hour and 24 minutes.
Copyright The Popcorn Reel. PopcornReel.com. 2008. All Rights Reserved.
"Chapter 27", a somewhat over-directed feature film, is no more a glorification of Mr. Chapman than it is a portrait of an icon. The film, which features a chilling performance by Jared Leto as Mr. Chapman, is an almost-claustrophobic look at the last two and a half days of the killer's time moping around New York City prior to the slaying of one of the world's most beloved activist-musicians. "Chapter 27" neither condones nor condemns Mr. Chapman, rather it presents the deranged and deeply troubled assassin just as Mr. Leto plays him -- as a man of disturbing and contradictory crescendos, a self-righteous yet self-loathing creature who predates the hawkish and vulturistic appetites of the paparazzi, whom some believe were chiefly responsible the death of England's Princess Diana in Paris eleven years ago.
"Chapter 27" -- the title refers to the Chapter of John in the Bible -- hews faithfully to the horror raging inside Mr. Chapman's head as he camps outside The Dakota (the location of the film "Rosemary's Baby") waiting for a glimpse of Mr. Lennon. Much of the dialogue, particularly the opening and closing minutes of the film, are taken verbatim from Mr. Chapman's confessions to New York City police detectives who had interrogated him within a couple of hours after the shooting of the Beatle legend. The book The Catcher In The Rye, J.D. Salinger's tale of adolescent subversion which was banned by the BBC in the 1970's and several schools in the United States in the 1950's, is Mr. Chapman's constant companion, his raison d'etre, and the film's protagonist proclaims at the very start that he is the book's lead character Holden Caulfield.
Mr. Leto (who put on a "Raging Bull"-like 60-plus pounds for the role of Mr. Chapman,) renders him with a scorn, menace and aggrieved disposition that is damning in its severity and convincing in its percolation during the story. Mr. Leto never attempts to overplay the character, neither does he use the additional weight of the physicality of his character to taint or unduly impose on the performance. Mr. Leto successfully livens a malicious, lonely and misguided misanthropic creature and he is the sole reason to see a film which is neither horrible nor especially memorable.
The film's supporting players are hardly key or even essential to the story -- Lindsay Lohan shows up as Jude, an fellow autograph-seeking Lennon fan, but muddies the waters given her character's lack of New York City streetwise radar after encountering a creepy Mr. Chapman on several occasions -- which is utterly unbelievable, making her character in context and the film in general look ridiculous on occasion. For instance, why couldn't Miss Lohan's Jude see fit to get as far away from this disturbed morass as possible?? Instead, she donates a trusting heart. It's likely that nobody told her they'd be days like these.
While the question about Miss Lohan's Jude is left unanswered, the film is less ambiguous about its overall intentions: the showing of the outpouring of love for its fallen hero, Mr. Lennon. It is here however, where "Chapter 27" so desperately wants to have its cake and eat it too -- by doing a self-correction -- as if atoning for feeling guilty for letting its audience linger inside the mind of Mr. Chapman too long. "Chapter 27" falls on its own sword with this kind of reflexiveness, betraying its protagonist and failing to exhibit the boldness that Mr. Leto's industrious efforts to play a most unpopular figure surely would have required, given the abundant protest that the film has engendered.
"Chapter 27" is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for language and some sexual content. The film's duration is one hour and 24 minutes.
Copyright The Popcorn Reel. PopcornReel.com. 2008. All Rights Reserved.