Saw Monsieur Verdoux, a Charlie Chaplin film, though not starring the 'little tramp.' This one follows the murderous seducer Monsieur Verdoux. This film is a comedy and set in the early 40s however, so the murders are never on screen and the women are rich twits one and all. It supposed to be ghoulish fun but in these jaded times it comes off quite soft. Chaplin does his usual mincing and winking but this time it's supposed to be kind of ghastly and effete and Peter Lorre-ish. He is also supposed to be an increasingly sympathetic character. Everyone remotely sympathetic seems delighted by the morbidity of his livelihood and the cops and witnesses on his tail are shrill, hick-ish types (also has a cameo from Fred Mertz AKA William Frawley.)
As the noose tightens around Chaplin, he becomes introspective and grandiloquent. The stock crash and world war form the backdrop of the third act, lending an apocalyptic air to the story. There's much talk of murderers with mass killing machines (which is of course how they referred to bombs back then) which I believe s supposed to be sobering and sophisticated but feels more sophomoric and cynical to me. It's a bit too self-serving to excuse your actions by the actions of nations. So, okay, his character is definitely flawed but then he is a murderer so this has been some sterling detective work on my part.
The film is a farce, a genre I usually hate, however it is a farce with a bit of heart to it and for me that redeems it. It's very much sympathy for the devil (literally in the end scenes) which I've decried in other pictures (usually ones helmed by Tarantino et al) but at least this film was not just watching jerks be jerks. Chaplin can't stand to let his characters be hated and the 10% pathos this brings is refreshing (for a farce.)
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