Movie Review – Modern Times

Modern Times (1938) – The final appearance of Chaplin’s classic character “The Little Tramp” and of Chaplin’s most beloved movies.  The Tramp struggles with the demands of  the fast pace of modern life.  He ends up in jail for a while on a mistake then he meets a young woman (Paulette Goddard).  She’s an orphan who appreciates the help the Tramp offers her.

This is  really the last movie of the classic silent movie era.  It was supposed to be Chaplin’s first talkie but he decided that the Little Tramp must remain silent(although he does sing).  There are some spoken words in the movie but they all come via some kind of mechanical device (radio, intercom, record player).  As always Chaplin’s work stands up amazingly well over the years.  Think the term “sheeple” is something we created in the modern age?  Check out the opening images of the movie.

This is Paulette Goddard’s first big role working with her then husband Chaplin.  As is still the case today in Hollywood she’s playing a teenager despite the fact she was in her late 20s.  While the Little Tramp would not translate particularly easily to modern films I could see Goddard stepping right into the movies today.  Here the gamin (the name by which her character is most often called) is in many ways the more competent of the two leads.

The Tramp struggles with any and all machinery in the film and struggles almost as much with the people.  As always he’s trying to do the right thing but his view of the world is just a little off from the world’s.  Chaplin offers a political slant here when it comes to the relationship of the working classes to authority.  The rest of the movie is trademark Chaplin.  It’s easy to discount it as slapstick but he always brings nuance to the performance and his astounding physicality is on display as well.  The ending is also the perfect farewell to one of the great screen characters.

If you’ve never seen a silent film (from the classic age) this could be a great sample.  It’s the art form at its peak.  A Chaplin movie would always be a great choice (so would a Buster Keaton) but if you have to choose just one you’d be hard pressed to pick one better than this.

Rating – *****  A Classic