All their efforts can't elevate this material above the arty exploitation that it is.
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03/28/08
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Chapter 27 (2008)
20
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:45
Fresh:9
Rotten:36
Average Rating:3.9/10
Consensus: Despite Jared Leto's committed performance, Chapter 27 fails to penetrate to mind of Mark David Chapman, John Lennon’s killer.
Theatrical Release:Mar 28, 2008 Limited
Synopsis: What went on in the mind of the man who felt compelled to assassinate John Lennon? Chapter 27 deftly pilots us into the dark psyche of Mark David Chapman the weekend before the December 8, 1980,... [More]
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Reviews for Chapter 27
Top CriticLeto, who gained poundage for the role, keeps taking his shirt off just to make it clear that he is the latest in a long line of actors to confuse daily patronage of the local doughnut shop with intensive actorly preparation.
03/28/08
Top CriticLeto's drawling, blotchy, creepy performance sets it apart.
03/28/08
Any film that dares attempt a nonjudgmental portrait of John Lennon’s assassin would most likely be accused of tastelessness, but in the case of Chapter 27 the charges are justified.
03/28/08
In fact, the real problems with Chapter 27 is it vagueness. Everyone here - Leto, Lohan, Friedlander - leaves us in the lurch, and nothing Schaefer does can save our confusion.
03/28/08
...ostensibly about the last few days in Chapman's life, but it's really about how much Leto's belly bulges over his waistband.
03/28/08
Enter Mark David Chapman's mind and prepare to be bored out of yours.
03/27/08
"I hate the movies. They're phony, so goddamned phony." Poor Mark David Chapman: no matter how many times he rejects the world of celebrity and phoniness, he's dragged back inside.
03/27/08
It might even be bad enough to inspire Catcher author J.D. Salinger to break his decades of public silence to speak out against this high-camp fiasco.
03/27/08
Visually ugly, morally non-existent and a complete black hole in the departments of insight and wit, Chapter 27 is quite possibly the most godawful, irredeemable film to yet emerge in the 21st century.
03/27/08
Chapman’s villainy isn’t tragic or misunderstood; it’s simple insanity. To dwell on it is to wallow in pain. Elevate yourself, and stay away.
03/27/08
Even if you are only moderately curious about the events that led up to the pointless death of a musical icon, I think you’ll find it a film of arm-twisting fascination.
03/26/08
Top CriticThis misbegotten psychological portrait eagerly foregrounds Leto's excess blubber and histrionic blather, delivered like bad improv outside the Dakota building.
03/25/08
Top CriticLeto's performance is as great a physical, if not emotional, transformation as Charlize Theron's "hagging it up" for Monster.
03/25/08
At one point, Chapman confesses that he doesn't enjoy the movies because they're "so goddamn phony," and with regard to the superficial, ugly-as-dirt Chapter 27, he's right on the money.
03/23/08
A failed attempt to probe dramatically the inner workings of the troubled mind of John Lennon's assassin in a chronicle replete with shallow Freudian observations about delusion and paranoia.
03/23/08
Not at all helpful to the stagnant proceedings and skimmed surfaces, is Lindsay Lohan, who pops up as hey, Jude, wouldn't you know it, a crazed Lennon fan, playing for a hoot what she likely loathes most on this earth in her own life.
03/20/08
Don't hammer this film for trying to get inside the head of Mark David Chapman before he shot John Lennon outside the rock legend's New York apartment on December 8th, 1980. Hammer it instead for failing to do so with any depth or insight.
03/20/08
Top CriticWill likely make its own mark on history as the single most relentlessly self-conscious vanity project to ever be conceived.
02/07/07
That anyone would allow this new guy into their lives is a complete stretch.
02/03/07
Latest News for Chapter 27
March 25, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review 
More...
January 26, 2007:
Sundance Review: "Starting Out in the Evening" Is Funny; "Chapter 27" Needs to Lose Weight; "Once" Has Charms
Senh caught the screenings of three films making their stop at the Sundance Film Festival this week: a funny and well-acted drama about relationships and the creative process; a... More...
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