DJG's Movie Morning Monday

Chapter 27 * * 1/2
Directed by: J.P. Schaefer / 2007

Jared Leto digested a ton of ice cream soup to puff up his good lookin’ build to lock down the demented psyche of John Lennon’s killer, Mark David Chapman. I’m not sure if he really acts much more than any overweight creepy-sounding clown I’ve been in contact with, but Leto isn’t bad and is lost in his performance due to the added pounds, of course. Though, it is no “Raging Bull” or “Taxi Driver”, “Chapter 27” is a little better than what all the reviews grumbled and does try to hearken back some early Scorsese/DeNiro magic but comes up down in the count. I think I just wanted more? There have been mixed feelings on even producing a film like this (evidence is in the poor theatrical distribution), but I think that the makers meant well and Chapman is a peculiar fella that we can maybe learn from, maybe dissect what surrounds “celebrity” whether it is famous or infamous. Maybe? Still, it makes me wonder if it was necessary and what Lennon’s family/estate thinks? And I’m sure Mark David Chapman (and Holden Caulfield for that matter) are eating up the spot light again like a gallon of melted Haagendas. By the end of “Chapter 27” I thought I’d be frustrated with Leto’s performance, but I’m just frustrated with the fact that I can’t lose my ice cream weight as fast as Jared Leto did after filming AND that Mark David Chapman had to kill John Lennon.

-djg