Chapter 27

I've been extremely intrigued by this movie for the past few months, since I saw it in a store. I did a bit of a double-take, seeing Jared Leto looking like that was a bit of a shock. It shows that he was obviously extremely dedicated to the role. I love that there are very few actors in the film other than Leto himself. It lets you really see Mark Chapman for what he was, and get a glimpse into his mind. There is one great line where he talks about why he doesn't like movies, how all of the actors are phony and they think they're so good. The funny thing about that is that as he was saying it I forgot that I was watching a movie and that he was actually an actor. That's how convincing he was. Towards the end it all built up to, obviously, the assassination of John Lennon. I just researched Chapman on Wikipedia, as I was interested in his mental state. It seems that he was prone to obsession, evidenced by his infatuation with The Catcher In The Rye and The Beatles. However, although Chapman loved the Beatles, he seemed to be very angry with Lennon. He was most angered by Lennon's statements of being "bigger than Jesus", bad-mouthing his time with the Beatles, and his dismissal of God on the Plastic Ono Band record. Chapman also admitted to hearing voices at the time, and suspects that he was suffering from schizophrenia. Some have called him a sociopath, but I don't think that is the case. Sociopaths suffer from a complete lack of feeling, of emotion. They are prone to high-risk activities, because the adrenaline rush from doing things like skydiving, high-stakes stock trading, and murder are the only things that can make them feel alive. However, it appears to me that Chapman had too much feeling. Anger towards Lennon, his father, phonies; and love towards his idea of Holden Caulfield, and the Beatles. As far as actual performances go, Leto was quite impressive, Lindsay Lohan was mediocre at best, and Judah Friedlander was very convincing as the photographer who was present when Chapman first met Lennon. I would definitely suggest it, but if you're looking for a solid storyline, stay away. If a psychological portrait of a killer sounds interesting, check it out.