Chapter 27 2007

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: By the end of this modest, strange venture, Leto made me believe it was worth being forced to hang out on the sidewalk with this man, if only to get a creeping sense of what that might've been like. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: His drama, about the three days leading up to the murder, never overcomes its inherent ghoulishness, largely because Chapman, like so many mentally ill people, is a huge bore. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: 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. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Chapter 27 is far from flawless, but Leto disappears inside this angry, mouth-breathing psycho geek with a conviction that had me hanging on his every delusion. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: There are cheesy special effects and even cheesier gags, and the schmaltz eventually piles on neck-deep. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: All their efforts can't elevate this material above the arty exploitation that it is. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Leto's drawling, blotchy, creepy performance sets it apart. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Leto, 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. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: 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. Read more

Jim Emerson, Chicago Sun-Times: Chapter 27 just makes you feel bad for, and about, everybody -- including the wretched souls who made the thing. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: Some viewers may well find Chapter 27 sleazy or distasteful, and I won't argue the point. But Schaefer's movie creates its own highly compelling world, which is pretty much the prime directive in filmmaking. Read more

Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle: The film is impressively mounted and Schaefer has made a directorial debut of distinction, but it is an uncomfortable ride from the opening scenes of Chapman arriving in New York to the inevitable, inexorable final scene. Read more

Ben Kenigsberg, Time Out: Read more

Stephen Garrett, Time Out: Read more

Dennis Harvey, Variety: In order to play John Lennon's assassin Mark David Chapman, actor Jared Leto gained some 70 pounds. Seemingly following his lead, the pic itself is heavy, lethargic, and exasperating. Read more

Ed Gonzalez, Village Voice: This misbegotten psychological portrait eagerly foregrounds Leto's excess blubber and histrionic blather, delivered like bad improv outside the Dakota building. Read more