The Killing of John Lennon (2006)

Director:

Andrew Piddington

Writer:

Andrew Piddington (writer)

Release Date:

7 December 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

I was nobody until I killed the biggest somebody on earth.

Plot:

A dramatization of Mark Champman's plan to murder John Lennon. |

Plot Keywords:

Murder | John Lennon | Travel | Mother Son Relationship | Album

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Jonas Ball	...	Mark Chapman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joe Abbate	...	Taxi Driver
Gail Kay Bell	...	Psychiatrist
J. Francis Curley	...	Security Guard
Nicole Delorey	...	Record Shop Girl
Sofia Dubrawsky	...	Jude
Krisha Fairchild	...	Chapman's mom
Vera Felice	...	Prostitute
James Hadde	...	Scientologist
Zero Kazama	...	Scientologist Leader
Robert C. Kirk	...	Det. John Sullivan
Thomas A. McMahon	...	Spiro
Mie Omori	...	Gloria Chapman
Joe Rosario	...	Police Inspector
John Sierros	...	Reporter
Anthony Solis	...	Gun Salesman
Tom Zolandz	...	Goresh

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Australia:MA

Company:

Picture Players Productions

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the flashback of Mark Chapman riding through the city in the cab near the end of the film, the camera is clearly visible in the reflection of the rear windshield.

Movie Connections:

References Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Soundtrack:

Strutt Your Funky Stuff

Too long in the mind of a killer

Re-enactment of the months leading up to the shooting of John Lennon in the life of Mark David Chapman using his own words and the actual locations.

Stunningly made and extremely well acted film is the cinematic equivalent to being dropping into the mind of a mad man. This is a often a scary portrait of a man on the edge. Through the use of words and images one can get a sense of what it may have been like inside the brain who killed John Lennon. Its a wonderful achievement that makes me want to see what director Andrew Piddington has done before and will do after (It appears he's done mostly TV documentaries). The early part of the film is very unnerving since you begin to see and understand what Chapman was thinking and going through. It is not an easy thing to identify with a killer and there are moments when Piddington makes you do that. (I know several people who don't want to see this film at all because they want to have nothing to do with the subject) As well made and well acted as the film is the film falls down in one key area, its simply too long. Running almost two hours the film simply begins to run out of steam as we watch the monotony of Chapman's life become monotony on screen. Some scenes seem to go on too long and others seem be a repeat of things we've seen before. What worse is that its an intriguing thing to think and feel like a madman its another to feel trapped in his mind and after a while the sensation becomes one similar to drowning and one wants to simply tune out and shut down. I hate to say it but I think probably a half hour could be removed to speed things up.

Well made enough to be worth a look on cable (I saw this on the pay service IFC on Demand) or as a rental where you may be ale to get through the slow bits by walking away for a while.

6.5 out of 10.