Sundance. Chapter 27.

"I hate to borrow material from another film critic," begins Scott Weinberg at Cinematical, "but a colleague of mine offered the following words after we finished watching Chapter 27: 'It's like a feature-length version of De Niro's "You talkin' to me" speech from Taxi Driver - only without Scorsese, Schrader or De Niro.' I repeat that sentence because it perfectly encapsulates my own opinion on the deadly dull and seriously dreary Chapter 27, a movie that promises to offer some insight into why Mark David Chapman, on one chilly night in 1980, shot the beloved John Lennon to death."

"[T]his is a highly compelling performance on many levels. [Jared] Leto has to carry the picture by himself, and pretty much does so," writes Salon's Andrew O'Hehir. "Some viewers may well find Chapter 27 sleazy or distasteful, and I won't argue the point. But [director Jarrett] Schaefer's movie creates its own highly compelling world, which is pretty much the prime directive in filmmaking."

Tom Hall: "It's a tough film with an engaging central performance, but nothing that brings us any closer to Chapman's psychosis or his justifications for senseless murder."

Justin Lowe at Filmmaker: "At the after-screening party, Schaefer told me that his goals for the film included 'a good story well-told,' as well as an examination of celebrity, noting that 'now we're in a culture dominated by celebrity,' which seemed particularly relevant considering [Lindsay] Lohan's participation in the film."

Steve Ramos reports on the film's reception for New York.

Update, 2/3: Cyndi Greening video'd the post-screening Q&A.

Coverage of the coverage: The Park City Index.

Posted by dwhudson at January 29, 2007 2:26 PM