The Kid (1921)

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

I will begin this review by giving a brief plot summary so you, the reader, have an impression of the goings on in the film if you haven't yet seen it. The film begins with a mother and her infant child. Very early on in the film the mother decides that she simply cannot care for the child, so she abandons it in the rear seat of an unoccupied car. The unoccupied car then because the partially unoccupied car and is subsequently stolen by car thieves. The thieves eventually take notice of the small child in the back seat and, in turn, they abandon it themselves in an alleyway. In this alley is where the iconic figure of Charlie Chaplin's Tramp character is presented and he eventually finds that he will have to be the one to care for the infant. Time lapses five years into the future and we find Chaplin and the child, which can now more accurately be referred to as a "kid", living together in a raggedy one bedroomed apartment. Chaplin's tramp is clearly presented as a surrogate father figure for the kid, and the two of them appear to coexist in a relationship that is both playful and loving. The rest of the movie unfolds after the stage is set as I just did for you. It is mostly instances of how the two paupers have to swindle there way into sources of income, and the misadventures that come along with it. The film was released in the year 1921. Releasing a film in this time period could be considered overly restricting by some individuals, considering that "talkies" had yet to be a staple of the medium. However, Chaplin absolutely encapsulates the melodrama of the story and expertly enables the story to be told through movement and design, rather than through dialogue. Chaplin's tramp character is the iconic image of Charlie Chaplin that everybody knows even if they have never seen one of his movies. Every aspect of the character from his attire (bowler hat, cane, small waist coat, large trousers and shoes) to his over exaggerated gestures make for an expressive performance that is both memorable and inevitably iconic. It is worth noting the charismatic performance of the kid as well. He is an excited young man that is clearly enjoying himself in the filmmaking process, and his relationship with Chaplin is quite endearing. The Kid is an exciting display of creativity that translates into iconic film. A scene that stands out is one in which Chaplin's tramp character is being chased along rooftops by a police officer, and another would be a dream sequence where characters throughout the streets have angel wings that can be purchased at a corner store. It is worth noting the impression that this film must have made upon audiences when it was first released. Even in modern times it comes across and a piece of utterly unique cinema, which is a testament to the acting and filmmaking genius that Charlie Chaplin had. I cannot recommend this movie enough to anyone that is interested in the history and progression of filmmaking as an art, or anyone that wants to lose themselves in a charming story about a man and his kid.

As with every other Chaplin film, this has good story telling, a good start to it, great pacing, hilarious footage and above all, a great contagious ability to communicate emotion and sensitivity with a positive moral.Philosophically one of the best elements of such Chaplins is how he'll downplay what is usually considered pitiful or dramatic; he'll make any desolate condition into something very ordinary and really not so bad while attracting the attention on more important and essential things in life, love being at center and the common denominator of those things. He'll make material decrepitude and a very low social status look funny and a simple fact of daily existence, while developing a strong sentimental bond in the plot between himself and one of the other characters: basically you can be a bum, wear one shoe, and eat dirt all day while living in a can, but that takes nothing away from the subtle humanity you'll always carry with you anywhere or your full, profound ability to love. And wrap this up with hilarious content from start to finish, and you've got a unique winning formula.

Charlie Chaplin and little Jackie Coogan are delightful in this film, which has a tramp (ahem, The Tramp) finding a baby who has been abandoned by its mother. There are several funny and endearing scenes, including the two of them running a scam whereby Coogan breaks windows by throwing rocks at them, runs off as fast as his little legs can carry him, and then Chaplin is Johnny-on-the-spot to repair them. Another has Coogan getting into a fight with another boy, leading to Chaplin getting into a fight with his (very large, seemingly padded) older brother. Things get sad and pull the heartstrings when the city comes to take Coogan away to an orphan asylum, and it's interesting that the film touches on the rights of an adoptive parent ("are you his father?").The extended dream sequence towards the end is strange and creative, and I was quite surprised to read later that Lita Grey, who plays the 'flirtatious angel' in that sequence, was only 12 years old at the time. Three years later, when Chaplin (aged 35) had an affair with her (if you call having sex with a 15 year old 'having an affair'), she got pregnant, and the pair married in Mexico. The marriage would only last four years, and Chaplin would divorce her amidst scandal and an enormous alimony payment. I digress. 'The Kid' is a charming film, though a little thin in its plot, and quite brisk at 53 minutes.

What can be said about Chaplin that hasn't been said before. He truly helped invent the art of cinema. I always remember a film teacher of mine telling me that sound came too quickly - that silent films were just coming into their own and that the rush to include sound prevented silent films from reaching their full potential. For those who say they don't like silents - then you can't say you love film. That said and done, THE KID does the near impossible. It has you laughing one minute and crying the next. But the emotions elicited by this film are real. There's no manipulation here. That's the sign of a true genius.