A complete masterpiece of both acting and storytelling. In what may have been the lowest point in the life of Robert Downey Jr., comes what may be the best performance of his career. A true gem of a film.
This film follows both the film career and private life of silent film star Charlie Chaplin. It gives an insight on his crazily hilarious films, his troubled life with his mother, his many romantic relationships, and his banishment from the United States for his disagreements with J. Edgar Hoover.
You get to see the young life of Charlie in England. His rough upbringing with a mother who suffered with schizophrenia, played by Geraldine Chaplin. You do get the sense that family had a huge impact on him, he even hired his brother as his manager.
The film also follows Chaplin's obsession with teenage girls, which he would almost always marry. Many times these young brides would be his co-stars. Each time ending and causing a type of misery within Chaplin's life until he met Oona O'Neil, played wonderfully by Moira Kelly.
We have become spoiled by the constant good performances of Robert Downey Jr. Over the years he has delivered over and over, no matter what troubles he was going through personally. That being said, this could easily be his best performance. Weirdly, it was not widely received. The film was not critically acclaimed, and has still not been made popular by his fans. When you get a close-up, you can see the pain in Downey's eyes. He puts himself into this film like I've never seen him do before. If there has ever been a snub by the Oscars, it was this. Sorry Denzel.
I would highly recommend this film to anyone over 14 due to some light sexuality. You want to be able to sit back and absorb everything this film has to offer. You will be greatly rewarded.
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