The Killing of John Lennon - NR
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this grim drama isn't for kids (who probably won't be interested anyway). It focuses on the deterioration of John Lennon assassin Mark David Chapman's mind, and there's a lot of discussion about the murder as he plans it, as well as images of guns, bullets, and shooting practice. Lennon's actual death is especially hectic and harsh. In his hotel room, Chapman overhears two men kissing (they're then shown embracing); he imagines shooting them, calling them "homos." Other language includes "f--k" and "s--t."
Families can talk about how media attention to the assassination of public figures is appealing to some killers, who desire fame. Can you think of other potentially negative consequences of media news coverage? How about positive ones? Families can also discuss how the movie portrays Chapman: Is he ever sympathetic, as he is plainly troubled and lonely? What do you think of his devotion to the book Catcher in the Rye? If you've read the book, do you think he misunderstands its meaning?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Cynthia Fuchs
Drawing from the prison diaries of Mark David Chapman, THE KILLING OF JOHN LENNON imagines what it might be like inside the assassin's mind. Tracing the three months leading up to Chapman's murder of John Lennon on Dec. 8, 1980, Andrew Piddington's film begins in Hawaii, where the 25-year-old Chapman (Jonas Ball) lives with his mother (Krisha Fairchild) and young wife, Gloria (Mie Omori). Lonely and disturbed, he's determined to become famous, and finds his means when he reads The Catcher in the Rye. Identifying with main character Holden Caulfield, Chapman decides to rid the world of the man he considers its greatest "phony": the former Beatle living in New York City.
Gloomy and angry, Chapman doesn't provide much in the way of standard biopic fodder. Certainly, he's sensationally troubled (depressed, confused, homophobic, and very angry at his careless mother). Traveling to New York, Chapman purchases a gun and takes to heart the themes of his favorite movies -- including Taxi Driver, Apocalypse Now, and Ordinary People -- which all focus on efforts by unhappy individuals to change their worlds with violence. "I was Mr. Nobody," Chapman says, "'til I killed the biggest somebody on earth."
While the film relies on some clichés to convey Chapman's distress (low-angle views of his sad face, slow-motion shots of city sidewalks), it also suggests his frustrating contexts: Speedy media and unattainable wealth surround him. Evoking Chapman's inability to see outside his own rage and needs by using long sequences of fragmented images, the movie makes clear that he was less deviant than a logical product of his moment. More tragically, his story can be seen as a projection, a look forward into the "future" (i.e. our own present) of celebrity culture.
Audiences who are intrigued by the story may want to see the movie Chapman references repeatedly, Taxi Driver, or a more compelling docudrama about an assassination, Death of a President (which adopts a "documentary" form). Or try the documentary Imagine: John Lennon or check out the Beatles in A Hard Day's Night.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentSome brief cleavage shots. Chapman's mother flirts with a young man (she leans close and giggles). Two men kiss and embrace (Chapman listens in from the next room and becomes upset, calling them "homos"). |
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ViolenceThe film leads to Lennon's assassination, which it foreshadows repeatedly with images of guns, bullets, and jarring camera movements. A character repeats the phrase "bang bang" while forming a gun with his fingers, pointed at the camera. Chapman describes his father's abuse and at one point slams furniture in his room. Scenes from Raging Bull show boxing. Chapman imagines shooting a man through a wall, then bursting into the man's room and shooting him and his male lover (loud, close-up gunfire). Chapman buys a gun, practices aiming at people outside his window, and eventually takes it to shoot Lennon on the sidewalk (Yoko screams in the background, Lennon falls in slow motion, blood spurting). Chapman describes his suicidal thoughts to a doctor. |
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LanguageTwo uses of "f--k," plus a couple of "hells" and one "s--t." |
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Social BehaviorChapman is increasingly disturbed, his anger and loneliness clear in his monologues. He plans to kill Lennon throughout the film and doesn't regret the murder when it happens. |
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Commercialism |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoChapman appears drunk -- he holds a bottle in a paper bag, and the images on screen get blurry to indicate his impaired vision. |
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