Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

Chaplin
1992
**½
Director: Richard Attenborough
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Dan Aykroyd, Moira Kelly, Geraldine Chaplin

Richard Attenborough's ambitious biopic attempts to squeeze Charlie Chaplin's entire life into 2½ hours, and it just doesn't work. We witness the childhood poverty, the days in the vaudeville tour, the film career and the many failed marriages, among many other things. The result is a rushed and superficial scratch at the surface. Robert Downey Jr gives a very strong performance, although his Chaplin is oddly miserable all of the time.