This is an analysis of the silent film “A Woman of Paris” directed by Charles Chaplin, who is most commonly known for his slapstick comedy.
Film Review
A Woman of Paris
A Woman of Paris
In the age of technology, it is perfectly common to see computer-generated images staring in a major motion picture. Hearing actors voices is commonplace and taken for granted. Silent film has become a lost art form.
I have never personally watched a feature-length silent film before. Initially it felt strange to be watching such a film with no voices, no special effects, no advertisements subtly placed within the set. After the initial shock, I began to appreciate Chaplin’s cinematography, which was beautifully done. His use of shadows was noticeable in several places, but stood out most vividly in my mind when he used it to show the train going by in the station. I thoroughly enjoyed his use of words because despite the occasional cheesy line, they were beautifully crafted sentences. The speed of the reel gave the film somewhat of a comic effect because it was faster than what I am typically used to, but this is something I expected before I began watching the film. Words did not appear on the screen every time the actors moved their mouths; I feel that this was a wonderful way to allow the viewer to create the conversation in their mind.
The plot has many twists and turns, some of which are incredibly typical but caught me by surprise just the same. When Jean’s father died, forcing him to leave Marie at the train station, I was not expecting it at all, however the moment it happened, I wasn’t the least bit surprised. Another plot point I was not expecting was Marie’s seeming indifference to Pierre’s engagement to another woman.
While Marie was trying to get to a party one evening she ran into Jean. That was incredibly typical, but something I was not expecting. The scene during which Jean painted Marie’s portrait reminded me of the portrait scene from James Cameron’s “Titanic”, and I couldn’t not help but wonder if he got some of his inspiration from Chaplin.
At one point in the film, Pierre is playing an instrument in Marie’s apartment, and the background music incorporates this beautifully, drawing the viewer’s attention away from the lack of actor voices. It is also during this scene that I found some comedic relief that I did not expect. Marie gets frustrated with Pierre and throws her jewelry out the window, then runs down the street to chase the man who picked it up. This is also the scene where she tells Pierre she is going to marry Jean.
The rest of the storyline is one giant roller coaster. Marie overhears Jean telling his mother he doesn’t’ really want to marry Marie (SURPRISE!), Marie going back to her sugar daddy Pierre, Jean regretting saying such things about Marie. It was all very typical and in some ways it brought me back to high school where drama was all too common.
I have to give Chaplin credit for his ending because it was not one I expected at all. I expected Jean to kill Marie, not himself. I certainly did not expect Jean’s dead body to be brought back to his apartment for his mother to keep. I did expect Jean’s mother to blame Marie for Jean’s death, which she did but I also expected Jean’s mother to kill Marie, which she did not.
Chaplin throws his audience for one final loop in the last scenes where Marie and Jeans mother are in a house full of children and one of the children says “Father is coming”. Of course thoughts of Jean or Pierre went through my mind, then it turned out to be a priest, which for me was a “haha” moment. As it turns out Marie and Jean’s mother put aside their grief for Jean and start an orphanage together. They both seem to be happy in the end.
The movie all happened relatively quickly. I understand this was necessary due to the lack of film, but I also found that it worked well for the film. It did not unnecessarily prolong the storyline and was just long enough to keep the viewer’s attention throughout. I thought Chaplin did a wonderful job with this film.
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