Monsieur Verdoux

Charlie Chaplin proves once again how thin the line is between comedy and drama, in this case, a truly cruel drama. What's even more interesting is the fact that he created the character of the killer, and yet he's the one who's irresistible the whole time, even at the very end, or actually, especially at the very end. You simply believe the words he speaks. There's no reason not to believe him; he's right. (2014-10-06)

“Business is a ruthless business.” Charlie Chaplin is nearly as bold here as he was with The Great Dictator seven years earlier. He again takes an actual murderer as his model, but this time transforms him into a loving husband who pursues a good deed through his murderous affairs. He does not go so far as to advocate murder in certain circumstances (which the author of the story, Orson Welles, may possibly have done), but even that minor contradiction which he brings to this black-and-white theme is pleasing. Unsurprisingly, the greatest asset is Chaplin himself in his role of a lovable, amoral criminal. For the casualness with which he interspersed suggestive one-liners with good old slapstick, I guilty wished that he still had someone to murder. With its “murder with a smile” approach, Monsieur Verdoux has something in common with Arsenic and Old Lace, though the latter is tighter and brisker. Unlike Capra, however, Chaplin did not make a mere madcap comedy. Therefore, it is a pity that he did not give the same care to the role of the family (Verdoux’s main motivation), which he somehow forgets about, as he did to incorporating the social subtext. 80% (2020-01-16)

After The Circus, Monsieur Verdoux is my second encounter with Charlie Chaplin, and once again I was pleasantly surprised. I've kept these gems of cinema out of my viewing range for so long that it's actually a shame. The character of Mr Verdoux is truly extraordinary, on the one hand a gallant gentleman, on the other a cold-blooded killer. But even such people have bright moments in their lives when they simply reflect on their actions and may ask themselves many questions. All evil is eventually exposed, but it doesn't always have to be perceived that way, which Chaplin (at least from my perspective) succeeds in doing. By the end I actually sympathized with "Bluebeard”, which may not have been the point, but for me, as evidence of a quality film, it was enough. In short, a comedic tragic film in which Chaplin gives an unforgettable performance. (2011-10-07)