LIMELIGHT (1952)
Plot
Chaplin's last American film is a masterful meditation on the highs and lows of fame. Set in London in the summer of 1914, Limelight begins with washed-up pantomime performer Calvero (Chaplin) saving young ballerina Thereza (Bloom) from committing suicide and, by the time the credits roll, Chaplin's taken us on a self-flagellating trawl through the highs and lows of success, failure, old age and celebrity. Tackling the sad business of being funny with an unflinching, often sentimental, gaze, Chaplin delivers a true auteur's film, a work of great personal resonance that stands as the summation of his tragicomic view of life. It's the inverse of Chaplin's acclaimed comedies, yet it's also a fitting conclusion to his vision of a world in which the good (like the perpetually downtrodden Tramp) are oppressed by great forces (in this case celebrity and fortune), that are out of their control. Moving, sentimental and deeply sad, this is the greatest moment in Chaplin's late career, a powerful work of cinema that remains essential viewing for Chaplin fans and non-believers alike.