Chapter 27

One day there will be good movie made about John Lennon, especially the tragic incidents surrounding his death. We'll always have 'Imagine', which captures Lennon at his creative peak, but just like so many twin films (think Volcano/Dante’s Peak, Deep Impact/Armageddon) before it, this follows in the wake of 'The Assassination Of John Lennon', which similarly missed the point that as an audience we are (always) far more interested in the subject of the assassination rather than the assassin him/herself. Very rarely is there an accurate and involving story to be told. All that remains is the sadness of a (typically) great person's passing. The film has only just been released in the States after months of stalling - here we get it direct to DVD and (as so often is the case) 'Chapter 27' will no doubt be appearing in a bargain bin near you soon.

Much has been made of Jared Leto's weight-gain to play the part of Mark Chapman and the sight of him in the early scenes corpulently pacing the streets of New York City and (needlessly) changing and sitting without his shirt in his varying motel rooms is affecting, but all of this is unfortunately before Lindsay Lohan arrives on the scene. Her character (so obviously called Jude) is a minor character and hardly warrants the hullabaloo that is so often made when she rears up in features.

Leto's voiceover is probably a all-too-accurate portrayal of Chapman, but it often comes over as coy and fractured as he opens his heart over the increasingly Bickle-like spiral that his character embarks upon. Key issues are unfortunately unresolved, such as where Chapman has gotten his money from to stay in New York and the sub-plot of his wife back in Hawaii. As for us, we’ll keep on waiting for that elusive movie.

Extras: Making of, Theatrical Trailer.

Released on 31st March 2008 by Optimum Releasing.

Written by Simon Cole.