The Killing of John Lennon (2006)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

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
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:

Factual errors: Mark David Chapman used a cheap Charter Arms .38 Special snub-nosed revolver to murder John Lennon. Not a Smith & Wesson as is described in the movie.

Movie Connections:

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Soundtrack:

Strutt Your Funky Stuff

Could have been better

I watched this film on pay per view mainly because I remember that day so well. It's hard for me to say exactly why, but I don't think the film quite works. Somehow the character development didn't click for me. The film was a bit slow moving, and I didn't like the occasional surrealistic asides showing him freaking out, descending into madness.

Technically, there were many flaws. They didn't try very hard to get the period right, other than obvious things like his haircut, car, and the 1980 presidential campaign. Also, I recall reading that part of Chapman's motive was that he was a rigid Christian, and he still smarted from Lennon's offending of the faith way back in the 60s. I think he had been some sort of youth counselor as well.

Overall, there was too much of an amateurishness to the production for me to recommend.