The Real Charlie Chaplin

Name: The Real Charlie Chaplin
Genre: Documentary
Released: November 19, 2021
Duration: 114 min
Rating: 66
Cast: Charlie Carter, Jo Price, Matthew Wolf, Paul Ryan, Sarah Lawn

2021

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Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews

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Generally favorable reviews based on 6 Ratings

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6.5

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6.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 6 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Showtime Documentary Films | Release Date: November 19, 2021 | Not Rated

Starring: Charlie Carter, Jo Price, Matthew Wolf, Paul Ryan, Sarah Lawn

Movie Facts:

Debuts on Showtime on December 11, 2021.

Summary: Combining unheard audio recordings, dramatic reconstructions and personal archive, the film traces Charlie Chaplin’s meteoric rise from the slums of Victorian London to the heights of Hollywood superstardom, before his scandalous fall from grace. This kaleidoscopic documentary portrait explores the many facets of a complex figure whoseCombining unheard audio recordings, dramatic reconstructions and personal archive, the film traces Charlie Chaplin’s meteoric rise from the slums of Victorian London to the heights of Hollywood superstardom, before his scandalous fall from grace. This kaleidoscopic documentary portrait explores the many facets of a complex figure whose life was as extraordinary as his art. For decades he was the most famous man in the world. But who was The Real Charlie Chaplin?… Expand

Director: James Spinney and Pete Middleton

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 114 min

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Critic Reviews

The Telegraph Robbie Collin

Feb 17, 2022

As portraiture, it’s also unapologetically (and therefore unfashionably) complex: the unsavoury aspects of his personal life are frankly addressed, but never used as a stick with which to beat the work. Rather, the signature tone of the narration – nicely delivered by the Doctor Who actress Pearl Mackie – is one of curiosity. And the fascination proves infectious. Read full review

Phil de Semlyen

Feb 4, 2022

That’s a lot of years to wrangle into one biography – even before you take in the rags-to-riches, zero-to-hero-to-popular-villain arc of his life – but this snappy and searching doc makes a very solid fist of it. Read full review

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

Feb 16, 2022

This film may not have all that much new material but it piercingly asks the right questions about Chaplin’s elusive reality. Read full review

Christopher Machell

Feb 17, 2022

Just as we feel that we have grasped the truth behind the image, it vanishes into thin air: The Real Charlie Chaplin is a Sisyphean task of the directors’ own making. Read full review

Tara Brady

Feb 18, 2022

It’s a fascinating delve or “kaleidoscope” as the film-makers have it. The film is as complete a portrait as we may ever get. Read full review

Empire Kambole Campbell

Feb 17, 2022

In its search for the personality behind the creator of one of cinema’s most famous comic characters, The Real Charlie Chaplin too often lapses into dreary convention, despite flashes of brilliance in its use of archive footage. Read full review

Dan Fienberg

Nov 18, 2021

The filmmaking choices all too frequently muddle any potential insight, yet the documentary contains so much good stuff that fans of the subject might be powerless to resist. Read full review

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Brent_Marchant

Dec 11, 2021

Getting a handle on an icon can be a difficult challenge, especially when it's one so simultaneously larger than life and enigmatic as film legend Charlie Chaplin. Yet directors Peter Middleton and James Finney do a more than admirable job of bringing "the little tramp," filmdom's first bonaGetting a handle on an icon can be a difficult challenge, especially when it's one so simultaneously larger than life and enigmatic as film legend Charlie Chaplin. Yet directors Peter Middleton and James Finney do a more than admirable job of bringing "the little tramp," filmdom's first bona fide superstar, to life through this well-crafted tribute that balances the genius and the failings of its complicated protagonist, one who was both inscrutably reclusive yet right at home in the limelight. With a wealth of film clips, archive behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with those who knew Chaplin, and re-creations of significant events in his life and career, this made-for-Showtime documentary provides more than just a rote chronicle of the comedian's life; it offers insight into how his work often reflected his early life in London's working class underbelly, as well as how and why he was later often seriously misunderstood when it came to his progressive social and political viewpoints. The film is admittedly a little slow to find its traction at first, but, once it hits its stride, it's a mesmerizing piece of cinema, one that's sure to hold viewer interest, even among those who usually have little interest in silent movies. A surprisingly good work that exceeds expectations.… Expand

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