Les feux de la rampe

Most ordinary people fall into a role and a persona in their lives, and tend to not veer very far from it if it provides for them. Perhaps, due to extreme situations, they may find it necessary to reinvent themselves once or twice and rise to the occasion or fall into dissolution.

An artist like Chaplain had to reinvent himself over and over again over four decades, particularly in a medium that was changing every few years. That's probably why he had so many failed marriages with younger woman; he had to feel like a "player" to keep the flow going and fight back the doubt and anxiety (and the terror of becoming irrelevant) that inevitably begins to haunt creative men in their twilight years. Don't underestimate the power of sex magic!

Limelight is a film about those demons, and the immense courage (and yes, the love of a much younger woman, too, doesn't hurt), that is required to triumph over them. Still, everyone knows there is one specter that no man can outrun -- Death. Chaplain masks this existential dimension in layers of sentimental melodrama which you will have to decide for yourself is effective, but I think he does this intentionally to smuggle in some deep and darker themes that filmmakers like Bergman would become famous for continually exploring masterfully.

I found myself going back and forth with Limelight; there are times when the melodrama overpowers the film, and the pedestrian cinematography doesn't help matters. A few times I felt like I was watching the old Abbot and Costello TV show, particularly the apartment scenes. However, Chaplain is such an immense presence you can't help be engaged and encouraged to keep watching because you want so much for his character Calvero to triumph. His co-star, Claire Bloom, is quite effective, too, and she has several "looks" in this film to contrast and mirror the ongoing struggle the old comedian in having internally.

Getting on in years myself, and feeling washed up and without hope and purpose, Calvero's plight and faltering desire to once again command the Limelight was quite cathartic. I was amazed by his final performance with Keaton; when Calvero starts rocking that violin like Eddie Van Halen in his prime, I was in a state of sublime fascination. Here was a true artist giving everything up for his audience, feeling the peak thrill of having the audience at his command once again for a few fleeting moments; a thrill that, tragically, he will pay dearly for.

We can only hope that we, too, can earn such an exalted death as Calvero's. Perhaps that is Chaplain's hidden message in this film; that life is, in the final analysis, about striving for a death that ennobles those you leave behind.

Permeated with profound melancholy, told with a wistful eye and heavily autobiographical in its depiction of events, Limelight concerns a fading comedian who's forced to deal with the loss of his popularity but finds purpose & hope by helping out a suicidal dancer. Anchored by excellent performances, the film is a powerfully moving & deeply personal effort from the great visionary.

Written, produced, directed & also composed by Charlie Chaplin (A Woman of Paris & Monsieur Verdoux), the story borrows ideas & events from the acclaimed filmmaker's own past & present life and finely balances hope with despair, stardom with obscurity, happiness with heartbreak & laughter with tears. It captures the power of kindness, the beauty of companionship & is an ode to life itself.

Chaplin also stars as the washed-out music hall comedian whose lost fame alludes to his own decreased popularity in the United States and the gaze, gestures & expressions with which he articulates his poignance & longing has a pitch-perfect conviction to it. Claire Boom is brilliant as well and her performance only gets stronger as plot progresses. And the two share a warm, wonderful chemistry together.

Overall, Limelight presents Charlie Chaplin making peace with his glorious past, acknowledging & accepting the realities of his place in the present world, and looking forward to his future with renewed hope. There are plenty of impressive scenes in this film but the most memorable one is where cinema's two greatest comedians unite for a gag together: a final coda on the stage that once was the playground of these screen legends.

Charles Chaplin plays Calvero, an aging clown who rescues a ballet dancer called Terry (Claire Bloom) from committing suicide.These two become friends and Calvero gets more meaning to his life.He desperately tries to make a come back to become the greatest clown again but it's hard to make people laugh anymore.Limelight from 1952 was Charles Chaplin's last American film.It was a flop but the film won an Academy Award for best score in 1972.That year the king of comedy got also a special Oscar for career achievement.This was Chaplin's most sentimental movie and it also was very touching.Chaplin is amazing as the aging clown.The man wasn't only a great comedian.He was also a terrific actor.It's hard to top his performance in this movie.Claire Bloom's performance as the ballet dancer is also brilliant.Chaplin's son Sydney plays Neville in the movie.There are also Chaplin's children Victoria, Michael, Josephine, Geraldine and Charles Chaplin Jr. in this film.This is truly a masterpiece.This proves that Chaplin didn't shine only in silent movies.He did that also in talkies.And this is one of his best talkies. The dialogue is just delicious in this comedic drama.In the end you can see another great comedian from the silent era;Buster Keaton.You can see Chaplin and Keaton clowning together in the end.And that is one great scene.A scene to remember.The message of Limelight is how wonderful life is.Enjoy it while you still can.

Chaplin could do anything as well or better than anyone else in movies: acting, writing, directing, composing, producing, editing, even choreographing. He was world renown as a comedian, yet has placed some of the most poignant images on film that ever were. He was, even more than the great Orson Welles, a sort of one man band.

He was as successful worldwide as anyone ever was in movies. Somehow in all this, he got the idea that he had something worthwhile to say about life and art. Which he did with this film.. and I for one am extremely grateful.

The subjects of alcoholism... depression... aging... the fickle relationships of audiences and performers... these are all covered in a film that manages to fit in philosophical dialog, pantomime, dancing, and music. The multiple showings of the same comedy sequence (in a dream, in front of an unappreciative audience, in front of a wildly appreciative audience) gets one to thinking about the lemming-like nature of people in a way that someone like Chaplin would have had almost unique insight into.

It may take a while to become accustomed to the odd pacing and cadence of a Chaplin movie; once you are, you find yourself in the middle of an artistic experience like no other.

The music in this film is unusually haunting and deserving of the Academy award it belatedly received. 10 out of 10.

A washed-up, formerly-famous Music Hall comic, Charlie Chaplin, saves a suicidal ballerina, Claire Bloom. In the process of giving her the hope to move on and succeed, he regains the confidence to return to the stage himself.

"Limelight" is a moving and autobiographical film that works as both a bittersweet drama and a mirror into the soul of one of the world's greatest film makers. I sometimes wondered if my affection for this film is based on my knowledge of Chaplin's life and career, and the parallels between "Limelight" and people and incidents in his own life. When I watch this film I see an artist standing naked at a crossroads before his audience, unsure where to go and what to do. However, I know the film does not require an advanced degree in Chaplin to enjoy. My wife, who could probably do little more than identify the Tramp in a lineup before marrying me, loved this film before she met me. I have also had the good fortune to see the film in a theater in New York and watch it work its wonders on an audience. Stylistically, it might be dated, but the magic lingers.

"Limelight" is best viewed as a drama with comedy rather than a comedy with drama. Outwardly, it is the simple story of a vulnerable youth who mistakes her gratitude for love, and an older man wise enough to know the difference. But it's more than that too. It's about an artist's nature, and the addictive power of applause. The Chaplin character, Calvero, knows how to make people laugh, but feels he has lost the ability to do so. He realizes he is at the end of his career, but he still hungers for one final moment in the limelight. The film is talky and philosophical, and, yes, a little pompous and pretentious at times too. It's almost as if Chaplin is trying to impart through words the simple joys and mystery of life he was once able to express effortlessly through simple slapstick alone. Does this flood of words mean Chaplin has lost his skills as a film maker? No. He still has the power to move.

"Limelight" is Chaplin's final masterpiece. It is one of my favorites. I prefer to think of it as his last film. Should this be your first Chaplin film? No. Start with films like "The Gold Rush," "City Lights," and "The Great Dictator." Come to know the comedian before you get to know the man.