Louise Brooks Movie THE CHAPERONE Trailer

[buskeat]

Wow, first Laurel and Hardy and now Louise Brooks! I quite enjoyed the first two-thirds of the novel THE CHAPERONE and thought the last third, that rushed through the next 60 years of Louise's life, was completely dreadful. I'm hoping this adaptation sticks with the first two-thirds. Now, let's get a Talmadge Sisters movie!

Louise Brooks the 1920s silver screen sensation who never met a rule she didn’t break, epitomized the restless, reckless spirit of the Jazz Age. But, just a few years earlier, she was a 15 year-old student in Wichita, Kansas for whom fame and fortune were only dreams. When the opportunity arises for her to go to New York to study with a leading dance troupe, her mother insists there be a chaperone. Norma Carlisle (Elizabeth McGovern), a local society matron who never broke a rule in her life, impulsively volunteers to accompany Louise (Haley Lu Richardson) to New York for the summer.

Why does this utterly conventional woman do this? What happens to her when she lands in Manhattan with an unusually rebellious teenager as her ward? And, which of the two women is stronger, the uptight wife-and-mother or the irrepressible free spirit? It’s a story full of surprises—about who these women really are, and who they eventually become.

Based on Laura Moriarty’s beloved New York Times best-selling novel, THE CHAPERONE reunites the writer (Oscar-winner Julian Fellowes), director (Michael Engler) and star (Elizabeth McGovern) of DOWNTON ABBEY for an immersive and richly emotional period piece. The film also stars Campbell Scott, Victoria Hill, Geza Rohrig, Miranda Otto, Robert Fairchild, and Blythe Danner. www.thechaperonefilm.com

[s.w.a.c.]

Not a fan of Fellowes, but I guess I'll have to see this. Definitely one for the "movies you can take your mom to" category.

[Brooksie]

I thought the book was only so-so (and hardly a biopic of Louise Brooks - she's more of a peripheral character, and one who seems shoehorned into the story), and I'm a bit worried about the twists and turns this film has gone through before reaching the screen. It was first announced in 2013 but not made until 2017. It debuted at the LA Film Festival last year, and got middling reviews - https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/revie ... 18-1151050. I'm confused as to whether it is receiving a theatrical release or just being shown on PBS. Perhaps best to go into this one with low expectations.

[thomas_gladysz]

FILM INTERNATIONAL has published my long-ish review of "The Chaperone" - the new Louise Brooks-related film from PBS Masterpiece. Find it at http://filmint.nu/?p=27177

[maliejandra]

I hate it when authors use real people as fictional characters in their novels. It always feels cheap, like they wouldn’t get readership unless they included this name. I have avoided this novel for that reason.

[Arndt]

And Julian Fellowes can be a bit hit or miss, to say the least. Let's not forget he wrote the screenplay for THE TOURIST (shudders).