Chapter 27 (2007)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

J.P. Schaefer

Writers:

J.P. Schaefer (written by)
Jack Jones (book)

Release Date:

15 December 2007 (Japan)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

No one can survive becoming a legend.

Plot:

A film about Mark David Chapman in the days leading up to the infamous murder of Beatle John Lennon. |

Plot Keywords:

Murder | John Lennon | Celebrity | Bleakness | Housekeeper

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Nov. 11	12:00 PM	TMC
Tue. Nov. 17	3:00 PM	TMC

Cast

Jared Leto	...	Mark David Chapman
Lindsay Lohan	...	Jude
Victor Verhaeghe	...	Spiro
Judah Friedlander	...	Paul
Brian Bell	...	Cabbie #2
Adam Scarimbolo	...	Clerk
Molly Griffith	...	Covergirl / Centerfold
Mariko Takai	...	Yoko Ono
Jeane Fournier	...	Prostitute
Matthew Humphreys	...	Frederic
Yuuki Hosokawa	...	Sean Lennon
Michael Sirow	...	Joseph
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ursula Abbott	...	Jeri
Mark Lindsay Chapman	...	John Lennon
Matthew Nardozzi	...	Little Kid
Brian O'Neill	...	Patrick
Vincent James Russo	...	Jose's Stand-in

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some sexual content.

Runtime:

84 min | USA:100 min (Sundance Film Festival)

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | Dolby SR

Certification:

Finland:K-7 | USA:R | Portugal:M/16 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Central Park West, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Peace Arch Entertainment Group

Trivia:

Mark Chapman's meeting with little Sean Lennon and his nanny the day Chapman shot John Lennon was a real incident, though unlike the film's portrayal of it, the meeting took place in the Dakota apartment building.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mark David Chapman: I believe in Holden Caulfield. And in the book, and what he was saying, what he was saying to a lost generation of phony people.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2008-03-29)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Run Rudolph Run

Not light summer entertainment, certainly

I wasn't sure what to expect of this movie, given the reviews that were all over the place. I was prepared for it to be dark, and for the narrative to not necessarily be straight-line. But... I wasn't prepared to like it as much as I did.

Yes, the movie doesn't give you any answers, that much of the criticism is true. But in the end, I think it's more satisfying that way. We get a little glimpse at a person who committed an inexplicable act, and maybe know a little more about him, but in the end, do we really understand? No. And that's fine. Sometimes we just DON'T know the answers to everything.

Jared Leto's performance is amazing, and well worth seeing even were the movie much worse than it is. He goes to some other place entirely, and shows us what it's like there - which, in my mind, IS great acting. Lindsey Lohan is quite good in her role, but the part is very limited - the movie belongs to Jared.

It's a shame this movie wasn't seen more widely; it certainly deserves to be.