Friday, May 22, 2009

Movie review - "The Kid" (1921) ****

Superb comedy drama which was a milestone in the career of Charlie Chaplin. He's excellent but he's bettered by Jackie Coogan, giving one of the best children's performances of all time - incredibly cute, feisty, funny and touching; he breaks your heart when he screams when they try to take him away from Chaplin.

Chaplin's direction is excellent, as is the photography (many silent films age badly, not this one). The sets do look a bit set-ty. The story is effective, being steeped in Dickens (the poverty, comedy, pathos, coincidences). The dream sequence feels padded.

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