Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An engaging, yet highly disturbing movie experience., June 28, 2008
Mark David Chapman is one of the darkest figures of modern time. He is the man who wanted to be famous, to be the next Holden Caulfield so bad, he killed John Lennon. And now, there is a movie about him.
How do you approach Chapman's clearly deranged psyche and then make a movie out of it? Well, first, you go for the motives. Although the movie only spawns the infamous three days of Caulfield's life, there is enough implied background for us to begin to understand this character. I would never imply Chapman is someone to be understood or forgiven, and neither would Jarrett Schaefer, who directs this movie respectfully and cautiously. He puts Chapman in a number of seemingly random and ordinary situations that all echo the plot of J. D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye". Like its protagonist Houlden Caulfield, Chapman also goes on a trip to New York City to "find" himself. An on and off Christian and a Beatles fan, he often ventures into philosophical musings about justice and the state of the world, and it seems that every single thing in life can be accociated with the biggest star in the world at the time, the peace activist John Lennon.
Chapman is played by Jared Leto, in one of those great movie transformations. The overweight Leto may not reach the heights of Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf or Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos, however, he is suitably creepy and disturbing. Lindsay Lohan plays Jude, a young Lennon fan who befriends Chapman. She gives an interesting performance, seeming friendly (bordering on flirty) in the beginning, but then becoming more cautious as Chapman's behavior starts shifting.
"Chapter 27" is not a perfect movie, but it is interesting, factual and engaging. Although it doesn't really provide any answers, it left me thinking about fandom, destiny and irony. What is the difference between a fan and a stalker? Can mental illness justify a crime? And finally, where do the Central Park ducks go?
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
EPIC ACTING PEFORMANCE!, November 1, 2008
Let's get this straight. This is NOT a BIO-PIC. It is a PORTRAYAL of a three day John Lennon autograph hunting expedition of the psychologically deranged Mark David Chapman. With that in mind, the film does not give the background information others are longing for, a history so to speak of Chapman's life. If you want that, this is NOT that film. let's stop focusing on what this film is NOT and start praising what it IS.
It is a monumental acting effort by Jared Leto. He is not 'acting' as Chapman. He IS Chapman. I truly believe he is in this film. That is a hard achievement to pull off for any actor ,. To totally encompass a role beyond what is called for to the point you cannot tell the difference between the actor and the person he is portraying. The only difference being that Chapman could never be as facially appealing.
Some have said Lindsay Lohan helps the film as Jude. I diagree. Her role is shallow, without any background or substance. Her acting is perfunctory, nothing more. Any actress could have played this role better. When you compare Leto's dedication and Lohan's non chalant attitude you see who paid their dues and who just showed up for a check.
On the other hand Paul Freilander is the balance in this story and his performance is great. He is neither hindered nor fooled by Chapman yet he somehow is drawn to share the same sidewalk. One wants a photo for a sale, the other an autograph, then to kill. The autograph seeker has never been played or seen in such sensitive light and with such insight into pyschosis. The long wait outside the dakota in a cold December is shown through Chapman's ramblings. Somehow you are DRAWN into his psychosis.
It all blends into one homogenous mind numbing delusion. You almost seem HAPPY he gets that autograph. The fact Lennon even asks him "Is that all you want" adds to the horror of the inevitable. I guarantee you by 1980 none of the other Beatles would have been this cordial in person. (Harrison was a well known recluse and was always weary of fans (for good reason), Ringo rarely took photos with fans to this day and Mccartney sightings on public streets are very well guarded).
The films 84 munute running time DOES leave you asking questions. The title of the film is not clearly explained. Chapman's total motivation whether by the Devil or the BOOK (Catcher) is not totally identified and apparantely there are a number of historical inaccuracies such as Sean's care taker being a polite English woman is a misnomer. Unimportant to the total scope of the film.
What you are witnessing is an ACTING TOUR DEFORCE by LETO and an equally fine supporting acting peformance by Freilander. I would have nominated BOTH for Golden Globes at the least.
This film is only boring if you cannot sit still for 30 seconds and do not like to listen and get inside the head of characters. Indeed I find it riveting. The film score is sensitive and well done. The direction is interesting and terse. I think this is a very well done film. A little more enhancement of script would have helped. No one mentioned if the DVD has any DELETED scenes which migh help explain some things. Are there deleted scenes?
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A very sad pathetic man, October 5, 2009
I wanted to watch Chapter 27 because I am a fan of music and love music and wanted to get some sense of how a fan of John Lennon could murder him in cold blood after gaining his autograph just hours before. I didn't see this film as a vehicle for praising or being sympathetic to Mark David Chapman, although after watching it, I did find that he was portrayed in a sympathetic light in some scenes even if it was unintentional. I don't understand Mark David Chapman or his motives for killing John Lennon and he doesn't deserve my understanding in my opinion. But seeing this film gave me a persepctive on how something so chilling and unfathomable could've happened to someone so famous.
Jared Leto did a believable portrayal of the insanity and psychoticness of Mark David Chapman. It reinforced my feelings of how unsympathetic, calculated and cold Mark David Chapman's motives were for killing John Lennon despite the fact that John Lennon so graciously gave an autograph to the sick, twisted individual who would so soon take his life. I found it so strange how unguarded John Lennon lived his life and how he would be swarmed by paparazzi in this day and age and would probably not live in a building without a private, gated entrance. It was amazing to watch the scene where he walks out of the Dakota and there is just one photographer and a handful of fans. That would never happen today with society's obsession with celebrity.
I don't think of this film as a validation or recognition of Mark David Chapman as some kind of victim to mental illness. I see this film as a testament to why this man should be kept in prison for his entire life with no parole. I was astounded to even think he was up for parole just because he is a born again Christian? He killed a man in cold blood and it was calculated when you shoot someone in the back 5 times. I don't know the historical facts surrounding John Lennon's death but I do know this film reinforces my feeling that someone like Mark David Chapman needs to stay in prison to pay for his crime and not to forget the sheer evil that can evolve in a person's heart to commit such an atrocious act of violence against another human being.
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