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Jared Leto, Lindsay Lohan, Judah Friedlander, Ursula Abbott, Brian O'Neill ... see more see more... , Mark Lindsay Chapman , George Bryant II , Kevin Cannon , Melissa Demyan , Jeane Fournier , Molly Griffith , Matthew Humphreys , Redman Maxfield , Lauren Milberger , Matthew Mardozzi , Adam Scarimbolo , Michael Sirow , Jeff Skowron , Victor Verhaeghe , Eric Wolfe , Dennis Funny , David Kneeream , Lisa Marie Palmieri , Joey Sontz , Julie McNiven

First-time writer/director J.P. Schaefer takes the reins for this haunting look at the mental collapse of Mark David Chapman in the days leading up to the murder of legendary musician John Lennon. Jar... read more read more...ed Leto stars as the man whose awe of Lennon and unrelenting drive to achieve infamy pushed him to pull the trigger on the former Beatle, and Lindsay Lohan stars as the devoted Lennon fan who befriended the killer on that fateful New York weekend. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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42% liked it

8,171 ratings

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18% liked it

49 critics

R, 1 hr. 24 min.

Directed by: Jarrett Schaeffer

Release Date: January 25, 2007

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DVD Release Date: September 30, 2008

Stats: 1,081 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,081)

  • LoughnerWasLucid
    February 25, 2011
    LoughnerWasLucid
    Lindsay plays her future self in a movie about some fuck with a gun and sideburns and he thinks hes Holden bla bla bla "John Lennon, sign my baseball cap, please!" that fucker didn't sign it... bla back to the crust hotel room cigarettes big sweaty gut, prostitute, "please please... read more just be quiet while we make sex, i like the sound of my own breathing, why should that freak you out, please dont go!" walks back to Lennon's apartment, waits for nine hours, "Hey Lennon!.... shoulda signed my rubber duckie, you fuck-hole!" BLAMMO! great, great scathing wit, soaked in satirical pleasure that will make your irony bone crackle!
  • 76Majikat
    January 28, 2011
    76Majikat
    Not exactly what I expected of this film, of course it represents the facts along with some assumptions no doubt, of the events leading up to the assassination of John Lennon and Jared Leto did play a very visually transformed character, along with (I'm sure) a very good interpre... read moretation of the man who became famous of the crime, however...this film was like watching paint dry, I am a Lennon fan (hence my original interest in the film)but it's very dull and so is the character and his tedious ramblings. The only Saving Grace is that the film length is quite short for a full length feature.
  • ythelastman89
    November 18, 2009
    ythelastman89
    I was really impressed with Jared Leto's performance. He played the character so well that I didn't even think it was him at any point, he was Mark David Chapman. The movie itself is very bizarre and fits the character perfectly. There was a great sense of insanity throughout the... read more film.
  • cosmo313
    November 12, 2009
    cosmo313
    It could have had a bit more substance or provided a bit more concrete reasons WHY MDC did what he did, but other than that, this is a really interesting and unnerving film, highlighted by a haunting performance by Jared Leto. She's only got a small part, buy Lindsay Lohan ialso ... read moredoes a pretty good job, as does Judah Friedlander. It's worth watching at least once.
  • MizturY0da
    July 8, 2009
    MizturY0da
    Chapter 27 had the potential to be a good movie but it got lost along the way. The movie seemed to be in the shadow of the fact that Jared Leto turned into a porker for the role and tried to act as weird as possible. Oh! And it's ripping off and trying to be Taxi Driver way too m... read moreuch. Leto was okay even if he was pandering to the Academy. Lindsay Lohan wasn't bad and actually kind of cute. The strangest thing about this movie for me is the fact that the actor who briefly played John Lennon was named Mark Chapman. When Chapter 27 ends you'll probably ask yourself if that's it, but all you've got to lose is about 90 minutes.
  • mjgildea
    October 17, 2008
    mjgildea
    Chapter 27 had the potential to be a good movie but it got lost along the way. The movie seemed to be in the shadow of the fact that Jared Leto turned into a porker for the role and tried to act as weird as possible. Oh! And it's ripping off and trying to be Taxi Driver way too m... read moreuch. Leto was okay even if he was pandering to the Academy. Lindsay Lohan wasn't bad and actually kind of cute. The strangest thing about this movie for me is the fact that the actor who briefly played John Lennon was named Mark Chapman. When Chapter 27 ends you'll probably ask yourself if that's it, but all you've got to lose is about 90 minutes.
  • fernandorafael
    September 1, 2008
    fernandorafael
    This movie felt not like an actual film, but as a rehearsal. It's like Jared Leto said "Let's shoot this thing...I'm ready" and the director goes "It's already done". Definitely a weird picture that makes you feel you're watching an unfinished copy. Not a very good job by the dir... read moreector or the writers. Lindsay Lohan was on screen far too little to judge her, and I think her appearance in the movie was there just to fulfill a personal wish of the director, or for CHAPTER 27 to gain notoriety. The highlight of the movie is an above average performance by its average leading man, Jared Leto.
  • dunmyer
    April 9, 2008
    dunmyer
    [font=Garamond][size=3]"Chapter 27," starring [b]Jared Leto[/b] as the man who murdered John Lennon in New York City in 1980, is one of the worst films of the year. I'm very impressed with Leto's extraordinary physical transformation, gaining something like 100 pounds for the par... read moret. But I think the far more interesting film would have been a documentary about Leto's metamorphosis. As it stands, "Chapter 27" is almost unendurably boring and empty.[/size][/font]

    [font=Garamond][size=3][img]http://www.nydailynews.com/img/2008/03/28/alg_leto.jpg[/img][/size][/font]

    [font=Garamond][size=3]The film is told almost entirely in voice-over. We watch this strange, semi-retarded, lonely young man from Georgia roam around Manhattan, while in voice-over he reads ultra-languidly from his boring diary. It reminded me to some degree of Travis Bickle in "Taxi Driver" reciting the now-famous "freaks come out at night" passage. Except this time there was no poetry, literary or visual. [/size][/font]

    [font=Garamond][size=3]"Chapter 27" is one of those rare films where I had to force myself to stay in my seat. It was an ordeal to listen to the meaninglessness for 90 minutes. I kept wanting to flee. Watching passersby outside would have been more captivating.[/size][/font]

    [font=Garamond][size=3][img]http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/ap/b45feca4-89a6-4a79-b873-9db1e4d5fb6e.hmedium.jpg[/img][/size][/font]

    [font=Garamond][size=3]But there was a grain of something interesting in the film. The idea for the movie is a good one. When I first read about the film, I was dazzled. I couldn't wait to see it. Every now and again in "Chapter 27" there's a glimmer of what could have been. But then it gets buried under another bland visual montage and narration as predictable as a suburban shopping mall. [/size][/font]

    [font=Garamond][size=3]First-time writer/director [b]J.P Schaefer[/b] should be prohibited from making any more films. Jared Leto clearly wants to turn himself into a serious actor, and I think he has a reasonably good chance of succeeding. He's not at all at the caliber of Ryan Gosling, but he does have some talent. It's also clear that he has passionate devotion to his craft, which is wonderful to see. Too bad he had such a bad script and such a terrible director this time around.[/size][/font]

    [font=Garamond][size=3][b]Lindsay Lohan[/b] has a small part as one of the many starstruck Lennon-ites who spend a lot of time at the entrance to the Dakota hoping to see Lennon and his family coming and going. As usual, it's impossible to take your eyes off Lohan. This young woman just bursts off the screen. But she's given so little dialogue that there's not much she can do to rescue the movie, and what she is given to say is crushingly superficial. Another talented person wasted on this film.[/size][/font]

    [font=Garamond][size=3]I believe the title of the film comes from the fact that "The Catcher in the Rye" (another of Mark David Chapman's obsessions) had 26 chapters. My recollection is that Chapman believed he was living out the 27th chapter of the novel. This isn't spelled out clearly in the film, although Chapman is shown re-reading the novel many times. He even has it in his pocket when he shoots Lennon.[/size][/font]
  • crossbladezero
    October 16, 2011
    crossbladezero
    I knew contemporary rock would kill John Lennon, but I didn't expect it to be literal. I just thought that the garbage they're shamelessly slapping the title of "rock" on would phase out Lennon's career, like it's doing with Leto's acting career, which probably would be more inta... read morect if he was more than just one of the best actors you've probably never even heard of as an actor. Seriously, this film is so obscure that it's a film past 2005 with Lindsay Lohan, who I must say would have ruined this film if it was better, because her being present made me rather underwhelmed by the fact that between Lindsay Lohan and Mark David Chapman, it was the less crazy person who killed John Lennon. Seriously, if there's any tension in this film, then it's the climax where Chapman's got the gun and you're expecting Lohan to jump out of no where, shoot Lennon, knock back a beer, steal something, get thrown in rehab, then thrown in rehab, then thrown in rehab, then thrown in prison and then thrown in rehab. No, I don't mean her character, I actually mean Lindsay Lohan, even though Lennon's death was before she was even born. Hey, say what you will about the nutcase, but you have to give it to her that at 25 years old - yes, 25 years old - she's already lived more than a lot of us will in our entire lives. But seriously though, if anything matches my desire to see Jared Leto back in film and Lindsay Lohan stopping being crazy and getting hot again, then it's my desire for this film to hit harder than it did.

    Now, if anyone out there is calling spoiler on me for going on and on about Chapman offing Lennon, well, that's history and the film acknowledges that within the opening credits, where they waste no time in telling you that Lennon died at the hands of Chapman. This film isn't a study on Lennon's death, it's a study on the mentality of his muderer as he breaks down to that point where he feels the need to kill an idol to everyone, even to he, himself. It's a powerful concept and this film's style could have added to the experience, but the style is the very thing that keeps this film from being as solid as it could have been. Director Jarrett Schaefer overuses the narration and imagery over the environment surrounding Chapman, leaving the film to be overstylized to the point of becoming hollow and that's bad for any film, especially a character study, where if the study is hollow, the whole project itself it totally unengaging, and it doesn't help that this film is so darn slow and quiet. Really, the extreme style and character study could have genuinely worked if it were to work on something very simple, yet significant for this type of subject matter: Immediate development. I find it rather funny that Chapman's opening narration draws to a close with him emphasizing that has no intention of giving you his background, because I could sense all four people who have ever watched this uttering "Oh no". Well, sure enough, without background on Chapman, we're not intimate with his mentality and although it was the environment around him that broke him, it feels like that's what drove him crazy to begin with, and just like that, the film immediately fails at its mission to analyze the mentality of Chapman in a believable and by extension, interesting fashion.

    As promised by the consensus, the film doesn't dive deeply enough into Mark David Chapman's mentality, but really, in spite of that, the film isn't bad, nor even as low as passable, partially because, like I said, the only reason this doesn't get deep enough in Chapman's mind is because of the underdevelopment. The rest of the film is so well-crafted and perfectly set up for the insightful character study this could have been, from the gritty style, to the odd score that fits Chapman's actual mentality. Even the writing - in spite of that big chunk of script at the beginning that could have changed this film entirely for the better - is sharp, featuring a noir-ish snap in the dialogue and a clever presentation of the environment. True, they could have done more with the environment, but what you do get to see sharply reflects to flaws in humanity that drove Chapman, not necessarily totally insane like the lack of backstory would leave you to think, but to that breaking point. Of course, for that, we have to credit the acting, which is really top-notch, even down to the tertiary characters that really could have played a key part in defining this film, were it not for the execution of the environment. Still, if this lack of backstory betrays anyone, then it's the man of the hour, Jared Leto, who did a lot more things than just put on a awe-inspiring "sixty-seven" - again, "sixty-seven" - pounds of pure body fat. Eat that Christian Bale, before Jared does.

    I once used Leto as an example of the major difference between an actor who just happens to be a musician and a musician who just happens to be an actor. He was an actor first and although he's become so occupied with his other passion, he knows this game and plays it because it is his game, not as a publicity stunt, like a Katy Perry, or a RZA, or a Will.i.am. Of course, I don't even know if I'm being complementary by labeling him as "just an actor", because the reason why he's easily one of today's acting greats, outside of the fact that he's just such a great actor, is because he has such a respect for the art. As much as I joke about Leto taking on such obscure films, I've nothing but respect for him for doing it, because he doesn't look at acting as a job, but as a genuine display of talent that he respects and most certainly has, and he realizes that being in something so emphasized and high-paying wouldn't allow him to play up that talent as much. He's not so much an example of the major difference between an actor who just happens to be a musician and a musician who just happens to be an actor, but instead more of an example of the major difference between an acting talent and actor, for he has such dedication to the art and if no other film reflects that, then this one - of all films - does, not just because of what he did before the camera started rolling, but because of what he did once the camera started rolling, as he executes the creepy mannerisms of his character in a very believable and chillingly mysterious fashion, while playing up the many complex layers of Mark Chapman slickly and believably. Still, the lack of development puts this film so far away from the page Leto is on and dilutes the effectiveness of his performance, which could have been "viewed" as masterful, and I emphasize that, because although it's hard to tell, Leto is giving an knockout stellar performance that's too good and insightful for a film that messes up this badly, which isn't to say that Leto might very well be the only thing that makes this film so enjoyable. I close this discussion with this single controversial statement: Forget Daniel Day-Lewis and his milkshake drinkin' self, because this is the best male lead performance of 2007.

    In the end, something as simple as a lack of immediate development goes a long way here, as it keeps us from seeing the imbalance in Mark David Chapman's sanity and leaves the overstylizing and dullness to make this potentially insightful character study hollow, but thanks to the snap in the writing and style, as well as a powerhouse lead performance by the full-on acting artist that is Jared Leto, "Chapter 27" remains a generally enjoyable experience, ineffective though, it may be.

    2.5/5 - Fair
  • SC007
    November 23, 2008
    SC007
    The best thing about this film is Jared Leto's haunting and disturbing performance as Mark David Chapman. He should have got an oscar nomination for his performance. Even Lindsay Lohan was good in a supporting role. The film itself is uneasy and disjointed, which I believe is ca... read moreuse the filmmaker was trying to get the audience in the mind of Chapman. However, he should have gotten rid of his voice over which I found distracting. I think it would have been more scary not having him comment on everything but seeing it in his facial expressions. Only one scene with his voice over, I thought was good, which was a scene by the end of the film in which he is conflicted with the voices inside his head on whether he should kill or not kill Lennon. Also i thought the film was too short, it could have been 20 minutes more. Overall, it is worth checking out for Jared Leto's performance.

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Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones
April 25, 2008
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

his drama, about the three days leading up to the murder, never overcomes its inherent ghoulishness, largely because Chapman, like so many mentally ill people, is a huge bore. Full Review

Jim Emerson
April 25, 2008
Jim Emerson, Chicago Sun-Times

Chapter 27 just makes you feel bad for, and about, everybody -- including the wretched souls who made the thing. Full Review

Michael Phillips
April 24, 2008
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

By the end of this modest, strange venture, Leto made me believe it was worth being forced to hang out on the sidewalk with this man, if only to get a creeping sense of what that might've been like. Full Review

Joel Selvin
April 18, 2008
Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle

The film is impressively mounted and Schaefer has made a directorial debut of distinction, but it is an uncomfortable ride from the opening scenes of Chapman arriving in New York to the inevitable, in... Full Review

Owen Gleiberman
April 9, 2008
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Chapter 27 is far from flawless, but Leto disappears inside this angry, mouth-breathing psycho geek with a conviction that had me hanging on his every delusion. Full Review

Richard Roeper
March 31, 2008
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

This is a very tough film to watch, especially for Beatles fans that worshipped Lennon, but it does provide a thought-provoking take on the inner workings of Mark David Chapman's twisted mind.

Stephen Whitty
March 28, 2008
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

All their efforts can't elevate this material above the arty exploitation that it is. Full Review

Kyle Smith
March 28, 2008
Kyle Smith, New York Post

Leto, who gained poundage for the role, keeps taking his shirt off just to make it clear that he is the latest in a long line of actors to confuse daily patronage of the local doughnut shop with inten... Full Review

Joe Neumaier
March 28, 2008
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

Leto's drawling, blotchy, creepy performance sets it apart. Full Review

Matt Zoller Seitz
March 28, 2008
Matt Zoller Seitz, New York Times

Any film that dares attempt a nonjudgmental portrait of John Lennon's assassin would most likely be accused of tastelessness, but in the case of Chapter 27 the charges are justified.

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  • What is the name of the movie about Mark David Chapman in the days leading up to the infamous murder of Beatle John Lennon?  Answer »
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