Modern Times

1936 silent comedy

Rating: 18/20

Plot: Modern times is hard times as the Tramp and his recently-orphaned love interest try to survive. The Tramp works in an assembly line until a series of misfortunes force his employee to have him committed. When released, bad luck continues to follow him around until he meets the girl and then it follows both of them around.

Interestingly, I didn't really like this movie the first time I saw it, probably about fifteen years ago. I love it now though, not just as a comedy but as a cry against a too-modern world and the negative effects that technological innovations can have on society. This was Chaplin's last silent (it does use sound effects very cleverly and, even more cleverly, there are several moments when spoken voices can be heard but they are only heard through machines), made several years after everybody else was making talkies, and it's cool watching him stick to his guns and make something so quietly poetic and visually wonderful in the midst of the changing industry. Chaplin often came at you with a heavy fist, but the message here is definitely below the surface of the comedy. There are some classic scenes--the automated eating machine, the Tramp being sucked into factory gears, a roller-skating-while-blindfolded stunt, troubles with waiting tables. I also love the way the music (Chaplin's, of course, and according to co-star and wife, obsessed over) works with the action, making the visual hijinks of the Tramp almost cartoony. Speaking of music, it should be noted that Chaplin's voice is in this one during a scene where he sings a nonsense song (seems dirty to me) in a restaurant. The combination of dada lyricism and pantomime is pretty brilliant there. The gripe could be made that this movie is too episodic and, yes, probably a bit sappy, but it's still a timeless classic that will likely always manage to entertain.