The Chaperone

A well-paced and excellent adaptation of the Laura Moriarty novel. The film captures the symmetry between the differences in 1920's Kansas and NYC, as well as the differences between the two main characters, Norma and Louise. Both highly intelligent, Norma is a reflection of the still-Victorian culture of 1922 Kansas while Louise has a near-feral need to burst out of the culture's restrictions. The journey to NYC results in both learning valuable life lessons.

Norma, the title character, is the central point of the film. While Louise becomes the famous one, this movie is not her biography. Her role is one that feeds the Norma character and propels her through the story. Prohibition, post-WWI dynamics and the tossed salad of the 1920's NYC atmosphere provide a fascinating historic framework.

While not for everyone, I highly recommend this film to anyone interested in 20th century US history, and good film making in general.