Limelight (1952) --82/100--

So far I’ve been watching & reviewing a lot of recently released stuff, but my viewing of The Artist gave me the odd inspiration to dip into the archives and check out one of the few Chaplin features that I had not yet perused. Limelight puts on display everything that set Chaplin apart as a true artist, not just a comedian. The man wrote, directed, composed the (gorgeous) music, and starred in pretty much every film he made. I doesn’t quite match his earlier masterpieces (The Circus, City Lights, Modern Times, The Great Dictator) but proves that even in his later years he still had a unique gift to make us laugh and deliver a solid sentimental punch.

There are a few detractions, like the odd (Woody Allen-like!) May/December romance between washed-up vaudeville comedian Calvero (Chaplin) and the delicate young ballerina Thereza (a radiant Claire Bloom) that forms the arc of the story. I guess it’s not all that surprising, knowing that Chaplin had a long history as a ladies’ man, and despite the weirdness there are many memorable scenes that rival the the best of that heartbreaking type of romance the Brits did so well in the golden era. Films like Brief Encounter, Letter from an Unknown Woman, and Random Harvest immediately spring to mind as Thereza recalls her first chance meetings with a struggling composer. And since I’ve always been a little more of a Buster Keaton nut, the final performance, with Chaplin sharing the spotlight with his longtime “rival,” is an absolute celluloid diamond.

The story of Calvero provides a stirring tribute to his early days on the stage, but is just as much a poignant elegy and in many ways mirrored his own career. Lauded as the greatest entertainer of his generation, he was mostly an afterthought as the the middle of the century rolled around, and he was exiled to Europe (Polanski-like!) after being aspersed as a Communist in 1952. After Limelight, Chaplin would live for another 25 years and go on to make a couple more films (I still need to see A King in New York), but it will always be regarded as his true, glorious swan song.

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For the casual readers that are unlikely to check out the whole film, I encourage you to enjoy out the Chaplin/Keaton collaboration below:

2012-1-10 jmm #5