The Day the Music Died

Chapter 27, the long-delayed film about Mark David Chapman, finally opened in limited release last Friday.

The film (the title of which comes from The Catcher in the Rye, which was an obsession of Chapman’s – and ended at chapter 26) has received mixed reviews at best.

It unfolds over the three days in December 1980 when Chapman stood outside the Dakota apartment building in New York, waiting for John Lennon to emerge so he could shoot him, and the friendship he developed with a young fan played by Lindsay Lohan.

Jared Leto, who gained 60 lbs. to play Chapman, is equally praised for his physical commitment to the role as he is criticized for certain choices (like the “annoyingly gimmicky whisper-scream he uses for his interior monologues”).

The kindest thing a review of Chapter 27 I just read said was, believe or not, about Lohan, calling the film “a bittersweet snapshot of a simpler time for the magnetic young actress.”

See – she’s still got it (I just hope she can keep it).

Photo: Peace Arch.