Chapter 27 (2007)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

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:

Catcher In The Rye | John Lennon | Number In Title

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Oct. 10	7:30 PM	SHOW
Sun. Oct. 12	3:45 PM	SHOW
Mon. Oct. 20	7:30 PM	SHOW

Cast

Jared Leto	...	Mark David Chapman
Lindsay Lohan	...	Jude
Judah Friedlander	...	Paul
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ursula Abbott	...	Jeri
George Bryant II	...	Limo driver
Kevin Cannon	...	Precision Driver / Street Hood
Mark Lindsay Chapman	...	John Lennon
Melissa Demyan	...	Lennon Groupie
Jeane Fournier	...	European Woman
Molly Griffith	...	Covergirl / Centerfold
Matthew Humphreys	...	Frederic Seaman
Redman Maxfield	...	Maitre D'
Lauren Milberger	...	Gilda Radner
Matthew Nardozzi	...	Little Kid
Brian O'Neill	...	Patrick
Adam Scarimbolo	...	Clerk Riley
Michael Sirow	...	Joseph Many
Jeff Skowron	...	Waiter
Mariko Takai	...	Yoko Ono
Victor Verhaeghe	...	Spiro
Erik Wolfe	...	Lennon Band Member

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some sexual content.

Runtime:

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

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | Dolby SR

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Peace Arch Entertainment Group

Trivia:

We are told that John Lennon was living in the Manhattan building called The Dakota, where Rosemary's Baby (1968) was filmed in 1968 - directed by Roman Polanski, whose pregnant wife, the actress Sharon Tate, was murdered in 1969. The murderers were Charles Manson and his followers, who titled their death spree "Helter Skelter" after the 1968 song by The Beatles.

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:

References Rosemary's Baby (1968)

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.