Micitype Pretty Good

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

jungophile Most ordinary people fall into a role and a persona in their lives, and tend to not veer very far from it if it provides for them. Perhaps, due to extreme situations, they may find it necessary to reinvent themselves once or twice and rise to the occasion or fall into dissolution.An artist like Chaplain had to reinvent himself over and over again over four decades, particularly in a medium that was changing every few years. That's probably why he had so many failed marriages with younger woman; he had to feel like a "player" to keep the flow going and fight back the doubt and anxiety (and the terror of becoming irrelevant) that inevitably begins to haunt creative men in their twilight years. Don't underestimate the power of sex magic!Limelight is a film about those demons, and the immense courage (and yes, the love of a much younger woman, too, doesn't hurt), that is required to triumph over them. Still, everyone knows there is one specter that no man can outrun -- Death. Chaplain masks this existential dimension in layers of sentimental melodrama which you will have to decide for yourself is effective, but I think he does this intentionally to smuggle in some deep and darker themes that filmmakers like Bergman would become famous for continually exploring masterfully.I found myself going back and forth with Limelight; there are times when the melodrama overpowers the film, and the pedestrian cinematography doesn't help matters. A few times I felt like I was watching the old Abbot and Costello TV show, particularly the apartment scenes. However, Chaplain is such an immense presence you can't help be engaged and encouraged to keep watching because you want so much for his character Calvero to triumph. His co-star, Claire Bloom, is quite effective, too, and she has several "looks" in this film to contrast and mirror the ongoing struggle the old comedian in having internally.Getting on in years myself, and feeling washed up and without hope and purpose, Calvero's plight and faltering desire to once again command the Limelight was quite cathartic. I was amazed by his final performance with Keaton; when Calvero starts rocking that violin like Eddie Van Halen in his prime, I was in a state of sublime fascination. Here was a true artist giving everything up for his audience, feeling the peak thrill of having the audience at his command once again for a few fleeting moments; a thrill that, tragically, he will pay dearly for. We can only hope that we, too, can earn such an exalted death as Calvero's. Perhaps that is Chaplain's hidden message in this film; that life is, in the final analysis, about striving for a death that ennobles those you leave behind.

grantss Not Charlie Chaplin's final movie, but it feels like it should be. There is a symmetry and poetry to this movie, like Chaplin was writing his own epitaph. Life's cycle is there for all to see.The last few scenes are great, and would have been a fitting way for Chaplin to sign off his careerCertainly not your average Chaplin movie. While there are some humorous moments, this is a drama, and a very poignant one too.Good performance by Chaplin in the lead role. Maybe a bit too speech-filled and theatrical for a movie - though the fault there would be with Chaplin the writer, not Chaplin the actor. Claire Bloom is great as the female lead. Sweet, beautiful and very convincing.Good to see Buster Keaton, albeit in a minor role. Not perfect, however. As mentioned, some of Chaplin's dialogue is overly theatrical and verbose. Plus, the point of the movie is soon obvious, but Chaplin draws it out unnecessarily. This results in the movie seeming to drag in places, especially in the latter half of the movie.Chaplin at his most symbolic and poetic.

Dimitri44 There was a time when actors and actresses couldn't appear before the camera unless they had prior, successful stage experience, they had native talent, and they had training. Native talent meant such things as having a unique, strong appearance and voice. Above all, it had to be clear to the audience that for the time being, you really were the personality you portrayed.Given all this, Charlie Chaplin and Claire Bloom showed us that Calvero and Terry really clicked together completely, and their chemistry was wonderfully perfect, and so how could they possibly be apart? Then, you can even start to wonder if external physical characteristics might sometimes be a mask, so that it is the inner personality that really matters.Even so, bravo for Charlie Chaplin for also showing us so delicately at the end that physical circumstances can nevertheless be such that sometimes it just isn't going to happen.

Errington_92 Limelight is a philosophic dramatic tragedy as two entertainers find parallels both in their personal and professional lives. But it is also an intimate piece giving insight into Chaplin's psyche at this stage of his career as Chaplin presents Limelight in the style of an intelligent auteur.Calvero, a washed up clown becomes a figure of strength to young dancer Thereza after she attempts suicide. Through out her recovery Calvero builds up Thereza's mental strength by encouraging her to pursue her dreams as a dancer. This encouragement leads to philosophical teachings regarding the meaning of life, "Life can be wonderful if you're not afraid of it" states Calvero. Although it gives us food for thought in the same manner of Chaplin's previous film Mousier Verdoux, the dialogue continues to return to the subject of life in a philosophical context to the point of exaggeration.Once the over usage of philosophy is put aside Limelight gains pace as Thereza strides in her dancing career whereas Calvero's realisation of his own career hits home and silently becomes intimidated by Thereza's growing success. It could be argued that the audience are placed in Calvero's position in his intimidation of her as segments of Limelight are dedicated to Thereza's rehearsal and performance. But unlike Calvero, Chaplin does not want us to be intimidated by Thereza but mesmerised by her in order to see the beauty of her talent as she moves across the stage on cue. Calvero realises this himself and goes from intimidation to realisation, stepping out of the way of Thereza both personally and professionally in a symbolic gesture as stated in the credits, "The glamour of limelight, from which age must pass as youth enters".Calvero may be a tragic figure but he is a man of wisdom who knows what is best in his situation and how he must follow his beliefs. One can conclude this is how Chaplin felt at this point in his career, vicariously bowing out with the character of Calvero as he had told his sons during production that he expected Limelight to be his swan song. So when we listen to Calvero make such statements as, "That's all any of us are, amateurs. We don't live long enough to be anything else", Chaplin is vicariously announcing his beliefs to the audience going back to the opinion of Limelight being an auteur piece.Even when Limelight contrasts its fill of drama and tragedy by lightening the mood with comedy, more observant viewers could see it as Chaplin subverting comedy to reflect this period of his career. Calvero's recurring dreams of himself at his peak singing in the style of vaudeville about spring and love, being playful in his gestures are call backs to The Little Tramp. Yet they are only dreams, which is an aspect Calvero substituting for Chaplin sadly understands knowing his golden years have passed.In short Limelight is a reflective piece, "Time is the best author. It always writes the perfect ending" Calvero admitted. Time gone by seems to be how Chaplin saw his career in 1952 and initially signed off with the death of Calvero in the midst of Thereza performing signifying the transition of the times at Chaplin saw it.