Drama writes missing "Chapter" of Lennon's murder

By Duane Byrge

PARK CITY, Utah (Hollywood Reporter) - Where were you when you heard John Lennon was killed? I remember it vividly, angling at the curve on Sunset Boulevard by the Hamburger Hamlet on the Strip and heading for work at the old Hollywood Reporter offices. Ever since then, the question for all us early Beatles fans: Why?

"Chapter 27" is a smart attempt to distill the twisted psychology and motivation of Mark David Chapman, which we've all superficially gleaned through mass-media reports and intermittent updates on Chapman's incarceration. A fictional depiction of the three days leading up to the murder, "Chapter 27" presents the maddening confluence of fact, fiction and mania that swirled through Chapman's inner and outer worlds.

Landing from Hawaii, on a pilgrimage to Lennon's domicile, Chapman transports a handgun, one that he might or might not use. Taking a cab into Manhattan and closer to Lennon, he assumes the psychology of Holden Caulfield, his literary soul mate: He baffles his cabbie with his Caulfield-isms, rambling about the ducks in Central Park. As he settles into a shabby YMCA, he procures a copy of his holy book, "The Catcher in the Rye." Clutching it, Chapman spirals further into Caulfield's persona, raging about "phonies" and puffing up in self-importance.

Like many serial killers, Chapman is a mostly invisible non-entity: chubby, pale and blurred by large, tinted glasses. At odd moments, he's also hair-trigger noticeable, bursting into rants or obsessive stalkerlike behavior. As he endures the December cold outside the Dakota, the Gothic-style building where Lennon lived, Chapman struggles against himself and the question of whether to murder Lennon. He evaporates from the "real" world into the pages of "Catcher," clinging to Caulfield in a twisted last grasp to find himself.

Writer-director J.P. Schaefer's smart depiction of Chapman is a compelling dramatization of the inner mania of Lennon's assailant. While the film does not purport to be a bromide for Lennon's fans, it is an inspired attempt to make sense of what has always seemed so senseless. It intelligently attempts to offer some measure of cinematic closure: a valiant attempt at "why."

High praise to the cast and crew. Jared Leto is mesmeric as the bloated, deranged Chapman. It's a brilliantly measured performance, evincing the tale of a madman through his own awful rhyme and reason.

Technical contributions also convey Chapman's disjointed mind-set, most prominently Tom Richmond's somber cinematic tones and irreal scopes.

Cast:

Mark David Chapman: Jared Leto

Jude: Lindsay Lohan

Paul: Judah Friedlander

Jeri: Ursula Abbott

European Woman: Jeane Fourier

Patrick: Brian O'Neill

Screenwriter-director J.P. Schaefer; Producers: Naomi Despres, Bob Salerno, Alexandra Milchan; Executive producers: John Flock, Gary Howsam, Lewin Webb; Director of photography: Tom Richmond; Music: Anthony Marinelli; Production designer: Kalina Ivanov; Costume designer: Ane Crabtree; Editors: Jim Makiej, Andrew Hafitz.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter