Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
Where Charlie Chaplin is mostly known for his comedic roles and personas he also clearly had desires to take his talent into a more dramatic light. I also reviewed his 1923 dramatic outing with A Woman of Paris but unfortunately, after that film was a box office bomb despite a positive critical response Chaplin returned to making comedic films for another 24 years until Monsieur Verdoux. Instead of the fun and lovable Tramp character, Chaplin takes the role of Monsieur Verdoux, a mysterious man who makes a living on marrying various women and killing them for their wealth. Despite literally playing a version of Hitler in his previous film this was a massive and daring change for Chaplin especially considering he had already tasted failure with trying something new but when you look at this point in Chaplin's career he really had little to lose. The once-beloved cinematic superstar had become ridiculed and hated by a ton of the population for his political ideas and many boycotted the release of this film. Once again this proved to be a financial disappointment but also a critical disappointment at the time unlike A Woman of Paris. Since then Chaplin's name once again has risen to nearly mythic proportions and most have come around to this film. I know personally, it has to be one of my favorite Chaplin films as it weaves together such an interesting plot and character.
Being a Chaplin film there really is no other place to start but the acting from Chaplin himself. This is easily unlike anything Chaplin had done up to this point, finding his groove as the Tramp Chaplin became known for his fast-paced slapstick and even with his portrayal of a Hitler like dictator in The Great Dictator he brought so much over the top chaotic energy to that role. It had layers sure but it was still overall meant to be fun. This character isn't, this is a serial killer who we are supposed to hate and root against (I am sure audiences didn't have much trouble with that when this released). Sure he has a huge personality but he uses it to manipulate women who he eventually murders. This is a hard line to walk but being the man who seemingly is a god at everything Chaplin absolutely nails it. Like with every aspect of every film he makes Chaplin gives this his all. He moves with such a drive behind him whether it's in his physical or spoken performance, no matter what he is doing on screen every character Chaplin portrays is truly captivating. This is even more impressive when you look at his transition from silent film to talkies, even more than The Great Dictator this is a movie that pushes his ability to act using monologues and emotion, there are countless actors that couldn't make the leap from the physical storytelling required when making a silent film but Chaplin doesn't stumble once. He has such a clear understanding of his character and the audience that he is able to perfectly connect to the audience and give an A+ performance though it is trickier to find a Chaplin performance that isn't A+ than one that is.
The character of Monsieur Verdoux is also just fascinating to me probably being my favorite Chaplin character when it comes to depth and meaning. I think it is no coincidence that as Chaplin fell from fame and became hated by general audiences on a deep and personal level that he decided to play the villain but also that he tries to humanize him. Verdoux does terrible things and we never are supposed to like him but there are moments where it is clear that Chaplin is trying to show that this character has a heart still. He is a monster but deep down he is also a man just like Chapin. Unlike Verdoux Chaplin didn't deserve the mass hate he was getting but deep down no matter what people thought of him at the time he still was a man, he wanted to do good and find happiness for himself and those around him. I fully see Monsieur Verdoux as a form of expression for Chaplin at the time with how he felt about his public image at the time. Not only does Chaplin shine in his acting and character work but I also thought the score he provided for this film really stood out as one of his stronger outings as a composer.
Overall I think Monsieur Verdoux is easily one of the most underrated Chaplin films out there. As a filmmaker so many only look at his comedic work (which is amazing in its own right) but this is also extremely impressive. This is a dark and disturbing film that pushed Chaplin as a filmmaker but he is able to masterfully weather the storm and turn out not only one of his best performances but one of his best films. It’s unlike anything else I have seen from him and it truly is a shame that he had so many struggles as a filmmaker at this time. If he had the financial and critical support that he had in his early filmography I can only imagine what he would have been able to do. Yet he would not give up and clearly didn’t lose his inspiration to tell captivating stories which is something you have to respect.
Overall I think Monsieur Verdoux is easily one of the most underrated Chaplin films out there. As a filmmaker so many only look at his comedic work (which is amazing in its own right) but this is also extremely impressive. This is a dark and disturbing film that pushed Chaplin as a filmmaker but he is able to masterfully weather the storm and turn out not only one of his best performances but one of his best films. It’s unlike anything else I have seen from him and it truly is a shame that he had so many struggles as a filmmaker at this time. If he had the financial and critical support that he had in his early filmography I can only imagine what he would have been able to do. Yet he would not give up and clearly didn’t lose his inspiration to tell captivating stories which is something you have to respect.