The Real Charlie Chaplin
Showtime Documentary Films | Release Date: November 19, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
66
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinFeb 17, 2022
As portraiture, it’s also unapologetically (and therefore unfashionably) complex: the unsavoury aspects of his personal life are frankly addressed, but never used as a stick with which to beat the work. Rather, the signature tone of the narration – nicely delivered by the Doctor Who actress Pearl Mackie – is one of curiosity. And the fascination proves infectious. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawFeb 16, 2022
This film may not have all that much new material but it piercingly asks the right questions about Chaplin’s elusive reality. Read full review
80
Time OutPhil de SemlyenFeb 4, 2022
That’s a lot of years to wrangle into one biography – even before you take in the rags-to-riches, zero-to-hero-to-popular-villain arc of his life – but this snappy and searching doc makes a very solid fist of it. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonDec 9, 2021
Middleton and Spinney are all about the medium’s first megawatt celebrity, who is a slippery enough subject all by himself, one treated here with affection, intelligence and an unadoring tone that’s intriguing all by itself. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinNov 18, 2021
Despite its omissions, the film proves a rich and satisfying meal and should be embraced by Chaplin fans and completists. Read full review
75
IndieWireChristian BlauveltNov 18, 2021
Clocking under two hours, The Real Charlie Chaplin is less concerned with being an exhaustive biography than trying to pinpoint what Chaplin’s life means to film history and how we might think of him today. It’s an approach that, while not entirely successful here, could help introduce newcomers to classic film rather than preach to the already converted. Read full review
67
The Film StageDan MeccaNov 18, 2021
The pace is never stagnant and the final moments are pointedly effective. Ultimately, The Real Charlie Chaplin is an imperfect film about an imperfect filmmaker. Read full review
60
The Irish TimesTara BradyFeb 18, 2022
It’s a fascinating delve or “kaleidoscope” as the film-makers have it. The film is as complete a portrait as we may ever get. Read full review
60
EmpireKambole CampbellFeb 17, 2022
In its search for the personality behind the creator of one of cinema’s most famous comic characters, The Real Charlie Chaplin too often lapses into dreary convention, despite flashes of brilliance in its use of archive footage. Read full review
60
CineVueChristopher MachellFeb 17, 2022
Just as we feel that we have grasped the truth behind the image, it vanishes into thin air: The Real Charlie Chaplin is a Sisyphean task of the directors’ own making. Read full review
60
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyFeb 17, 2022
The conclusion that Chaplin remains inscrutable feels neither new nor substantial. Read full review
60
Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganNov 18, 2021
This meticulous documentary can’t quite overcome the inevitability of its rise-and-fall trajectory, the familiarity of its sad-clown hypothesis. Read full review
50
The New York TimesNicolas RapoldDec 10, 2021
The tell-all promise of the film’s title dwindles away into predictable perspectives from members of his family. But this introduction to Chaplin shines whenever he performs, displaying his comic genius for doing everything wrong to absolute perfection. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterDaniel FienbergNov 18, 2021
The filmmaking choices all too frequently muddle any potential insight, yet the documentary contains so much good stuff that fans of the subject might be powerless to resist. Read full review
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