The Real Charlie Chaplin

With the type of attention to detail and editing that Chaplin used throughout his career, this documentary could have been wonderful. But it's not. It's overly long, dwells too much on some things while ignoring others, and gives us an arms-length view. Shame. Better editing could make it wonderful.

Charles Chaplin was the greatest comic actor, writer, producer and director of his time - from the infancy of film to the collapse of the studio system in the 1950s. For a long period, he was the most famous person on earth. His creation, The Tramp, was so flexible that he could find himself in a factory, a circus, a boxing ring, a gold rush - the list is endless. And it never didn't work. Wherever the Tramp went, he found himself immersed in the business of being human. This documentary wants us to know the man behind the Tramp facade. In many ways, they were very similar. Chaplin came from dire poverty in the hovels of late Victorian London. In many respects, he never left there. His politics were never very precise except that he was always for the underdog, for the Tramp. During the shameful period of American history when the FBI spied on every prominent person (probably still do) and tried to ruin the careers of all those who were sympathetic to working people (again, they probably still do) Chaplin was forced to leave the US and prevented from returning. He never fully recovered from the shock.

An insightful documentary which manages to largely follow the man's entire life whilst trying, largely successfully, to understand and articulate his motivations and aching doubts. He remains highly regarded and it is hard to understand now how incredibly popular and loved he was. He was though not a particularly nice man and seemed to find affection for others difficult, until possibly in his old age. The nonsensical communist paranoia that plagued the US finally got him and he had to live his later years in Switzerland which often seems here so very sad, particularly given the somewhat hypocritical Oscar he received in his last few years.

I rather liked Pearl Mackie's rather affectionate narration, which made a nice change from the usual Walter Cronkite type austerity.

As "The Real Charlie Chaplin" (2021 release; 114 min.) opens, it is December, 1916, and Chaplin-mania is in full swing. We then go back in time, and visit London, where Chaplin was born in 1889 (4 days apart from a certain fella named Adolf Hitler). The film makers have dug up a 1983 interview with the Chaplin family's neighbor from the early days, and the woman reflects on Charlie as a boy. At this point we are 10 min into the film.

Couple of comments: this documentary is co-directed by Peter Middleton and James Spinney ("Notes On Blindness"). Here they reassess the man, the myth and the legacy of Charlie Chaplin. It appears that this film received the full cooperation of the Chaplin estate, as the film features tons of archive home footage. As is noted by several talking heads: Charlie Chaplin's the Tramp character is just that: a character, and not Charlie Chaplin himself. Chaplin the film maker was a genius. Chaplin the man was a deeply flawed person. Meanwhile the US doesn't come out great in this either, and that's a serious understatement. After years of a smear campaign led by the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover, to boot Chaplin and his family out of the country in 1952 at the height of McCarthyism was simply petty and vindictive (and unfounded I might add). The movie also contains a large segment as to the parallels between Chaplin and Hitler. None of it is "new" but to see it laid out as it is here, is startling nevertheless. One thing about the documentary that bothered me (perhaps more than it should) is the reenactment of various interviews that were audio-taped only, but shown here in full stage reenactments, as if these events were filmed (which they were not). It is completely unnecessary and frankly misleading. Aside from that stain, this documentary is a timely reminder of the genius and shortcomings at the same time that befell Charlie Chaplin.

"The Real Charlie Chaplin" recently premiered in Showtime, and is now available on SHO On Demand (where I caught it). If you have any interest in movie history or are simply a fan of Charlie Chapin, I'd readily suggest you check it out, and draw your own conclusion.

Going into this, you could write what I know about Charlie Chaplin on a stamp. I know that his films are classics of the silent era and that he was a comic genius. But everyone knows that right? What else is there to know about Charlie? This is a brilliant documentary. Both the perfect introduction to Chaplin and an insightful and deep exploration for any die hard fan. We think Chaplin and see his character, the moustache, the hat, The Tramp. It's difficult to separate Chaplin from his screen alter ego and to be honest, without the hat and the moustache, I don't think I could pick him out of a line up. Narrated beautifully by Pearl Mackie we begin in 1889, the year of Chaplin's birth and the birth of technological invention, most notably film. There's some clever tricks that make this especially watchable. Old audio interviews, brought to life with actors lipsyncing, but it's the narrated segments that tell the story best. The script is informative, yet poetic. Telling of his arrival in America, his start on the stage, using his comic gift and charm to hide the inadequacy and fear he felt. Fear of being alone, being poor, all things he knew only too well from his childhood. Yes the physical performances are exquisite, but this guy was a master polymath. Writing, directing, producing, editing, scoring. Staggering. The archive material is fantastic. Photos, newsreel, outtakes and movie clips, but it's the stories they tell. The arrival of The Talkies, how Chaplin innovates and continues to delight. I'm left with a list of Chaplin classics that I now have to watch. The Kid, The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, The Great Dictator. These films aren't great because of the physical comedy we associate with Chaplin. It's the heart, the truth and honest of the character he portrays. All incredibly self referential. It's not just the genius onscreen Chaplin we learn about though. There's the off screen marital problems. Teenage wives, abuse, deplorable patriarchy. Although this side of Chaplin is covered relatively quickly. None of the weight is taken away. There's much more to Chaplin than slapstick and a funny walk. Political witch-hunts, overzealous governments, tabloid scandal, exile. As miraculous his rise, how sensational the fall. A truly fascinating career and a truly fascinating documentary. "When you ask for the real Charlie Chaplin, a thousand voices reply. Some are louder than others. Some are hidden. Some struggle to be heard and others remain silent".