Monsieur Verdoux Reviews

(OK) Has all, even great comedy with Chaplin and Martha Raye and small actors delivering great lines or moments. Serene or acting impromptus, Chaplin/Verdoux tastes life without moral complications, but estetic and sort of traditional values...

I'm a big fan of Charlie Chaplin so I really had to watch this flick at some point. Apparently, the film was originally meant to be directed by Orson Welles and starring Charles Chaplin, but Chaplin backed out at the last moment, saying that he had never had anyone direct him before and didn't want to start. Can you imagine this combination?!? Eventually, Chaplin directed the thing himself and regarded the film as the cleverest and most brilliant film of his career. Unfortunately for him, it was a huge flop when it was released which was not really surprising when you think about it. Indeed, Chaplin was beloved for a playing the same character for years and, suddenly, he decided to do something entirely different and, a usual, the ruthless audience wouldn't have it. Personally, even though I didn't enjoy it as much as his previous movies, I still think it was pretty good and it is now highly regarded. You can't deny that it was way ahead of its time, some kind of lugubrious dark comedy. As a result, it is much more cynical and dark than his previous work but I really enjoyed it and I will probably re-watch it some day to make up my mind about it. To conclude, it is yet again another brilliant movie by Chaplin and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in his work.