“Time is the great author; it always writes the perfect ending.” _Calvero
Charlie Chaplin’s semi-autobiographical film about a washed-up vaudeville performer and a suicidal ballet dancer both in desperate search for hope and meaning in life, is perhaps his most philosophical film. Chaplin weaves in themes of depression, alcoholism, and the cruelty of time in the melancholic portrayal of Calvero, the great clown who once made audiences erupt into laughter.
Calvero, a drunk has-been, finds new purpose when he stumbles upon his neighbor, a young, paralyzed ballet-dancer who has given up on life. When Calvero finds out the paralysis is caused by a psychological condition, he takes it upon himself to nurture her back to health, both physically and mentally. Yet, one can’t help but wonder, is Calvero trying to talk the ballet-dancer into giving life another chance, or is Chaplin addressing himself and his own troubling thoughts through the character of Calvero. The parallels between the art and the artist are impossible to ignore.
By the time “Limelight” was made, Chaplin’s star had fallen significantly in Hollywood. He was perceived as a comedian who had lost his touch and was even banished from America for political reasons. This is Chaplin making a statement to an unforgiving industry. Tired and withered by age, Chaplin accepts the fact that the old eventually must make way for the new. Yet, his exit would come on his own terms in a film that looks back at the past with nostalgic eyes. The gag between the two giants of silent cinema, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, is one of the most magical moments in film history. “Limelight” is much more than a late-career masterpiece from the pioneer of the movies, it’s a beautiful exercise of cinematic self-therapy.
The Cinephile Fix 