DVD Pick: Chapter 27

Leto gives it his all in Mark David Chapman's 'biopic'

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

I must admit that I was a bit biased going into Chapter 27, with my pre-exsisting fascination for a dominate reference in the movie, J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, and its main character 'Holden Caulfield,' but that just wasn't enough to make me a fan.

Holden was the primary influence on Mark David Chapman's decision to assassinate former Beatles frontman John Lennon (ironically, played by actor Mark Lindsay Chapman), who Chapman thought of as a "phony," a name Holden used over and over in Salinger's iconic novel. One-time teen idol Jared Leto (Requieum for a Dream) plays Chapman in J.P. Schaefer's Chapter 27 (based on Jack Jones' book Let Me Take You Down), taking method acting to a whole new personal level. Leto completely transforms himself into the delusional Chapman, even intentially putting on 67 pounds to play the part, and studying the killer's traits.

Chapman tried to recreate Holden's fictional soul-searching journey in Manhattan, right before he shot and killed Lennon just outside the Dakota hotel he was staying at with wife Yoko Ono, who actually witnessed the incident herself. But Chapman's own story just isn't that interesting. Throw in a slow pace and a "tacky" supporting role by Lindsay Lohan, and you've got a sub-par movie that failed to spark any attention amongst moviegoers, and critics weren't impressed either.

Chapter 27 (The Catcher has 26 chapters, in case you were wondering) wasn't all that bad, salvaged at times by Leto's steady effort and his recitals of full sentences--and paragraphs in some cases--of The Catcher, in all its glory. But this was a movie that many did not want to see made, and many others who'd refuse to even acknowledge its exsistance. Chapman was the most hated man in America that December 1980, and it seems that most still aren't ready to hear his side of the story.

2.5/5 stars