The Chaperone (2018) User Reviews

Julian Fellowes certainly knows his audience

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 25 August 2019]

The creator of Downton Abbey wrote the screenplay for The Chaperone, a story ostensibly about legendary silent screen star Louise Brooks' first trip to New York. Louise's cultured and elitist mother has big dreams for her daughter, which won't happen if she stays in Wichita. Louise (Haley Lu Richardson) can go to New York only if accompanied by a chaperone, and Elizabeth McGovern's Norma eagerly volunteers, for reasons later revealed. Richardson transforms wonderfully, capturing Lulu's energy and insouciance. Brooks quickly becomes the star pupil at the Denishawn Dance School, holds court at a swank Speakeasy called the Velvet Cat, and resents being told what to do by Norma, whom she likes but doesn't necessarily respect. The push-pull between Norma and Louise is a highlight.

Norma, with her nineteenth century sense of propriety, lives in quiet disappointment and repressed anger. Shocked by what she caught her husband (an excellent Campbell Scott) doing, and haunted by murky childhood memories, in which she was abandoned at a Catholic orphanage, waiting for adoption. The only thing that excites her is tracking down her birth mother and pining for a late life renewal. The film has a pleasing symmetry in how the two women's stories are told: For Brooks, it's just beginning, but also for Norma, in a feel-good twist of irony that is so very Downtonesque.

It's not about Louise Brooks in her Hollywood years

[bama1111 · 8/10 · 18 December 2019]

The story takes place when the teenage Louise Brooks (Haley Lu Richardson) leaves Wichita for New York City. She has been accepted to a major dancing academy and has no doubt that she'll be asked to join their dancing troupe. She is, as required at the time, accompanied by a chaperone, Norma Carlisle (Elizabeth McGovern). The spirited Louise and the proper Norma seem to have little in common other than wanting to be in New York City. But we soon learn that there is more to Norma than meets the eye. A couple of surprises explain Norma's earlier behavior in her interactions with her husband (Campbell Scott) as well as her later behavior as the story progresses. McGovern and Richardson share most of the screen time along with some brief appearances by Amanda Otto, Blythe Danner and Géza Röhrig. I continue to be impressed with Richardson who came to my attention, in 2016, in Split and The Edge Of Seventeen.

Nicely done

[nikatnyte · 8/10 · 11 April 2019]

Elizabeth McGovern is the reason to see this. She brings to life what, in other hands, could be a cliched character. She has become a much more interesting actress as she's aged; you can't take your eyes off her (those eyes!). The Louise Brooks subplot serves its purpose but seems a bit strained. Blythe Danner, Miranda Otto, Campbell Scott and other familiar names essay their supporting roles well, and the period is recreated nicely. Overall, very entertaining and not nearly as predictable as you would think.

Semi-biographical story of a 1920s dancer and silent film star.

[TxMike · 14 March 2020]

It is significant that the title is "The Chaperone" and not "The Dancer."

My wife and I watched this at home on DVD from our public library. Before I saw the movie I had no idea who Louise Brooks was. From Kansas and in 1922 at the age of 15 she, along with a chaperone, went to NYC to try out for a dance troupe. While her life was a rocky road she indeed did go on to dance and star in a number of silent movies in the 1920s and 1930s.

While her memoirs did mention a chaperone to New York nothing is known of her, so for this movie one is created, Elizabeth McGovern as Norma, and much of the story focuses on her, her life back home, her experiences in New York trying to find out where she came from because she was adopted as an orphan.

Haley Lu Richardson, who really is an accomplished dancer, is in the role of Louise Brooks, with he bob black haircut looking pretty much like Louise did back then.

This is a good movie, very well made with interesting stories.

Had its ups and downs but there are some wonderful aspects

[Keely · 6/10 · 9 December 2019]

I think this would be most interesting to people who already know a lot about Louise Brooks and aren't expecting a sort of biography of her. The movie is really for fans of the book and the story. I saw a number of reviews that complained about how the character of Louise took second place next to Norma's quest to find out about her beginnings, but Elizabeth McGovern was so much more sympathetic a character than Haley Lu Richandson's Louise that this didn't bother me at all. I enjoyed most the aspect of the story that dealt with the discovery Norma made about her husband, how she chose to deal with it, and and how her family evolved over time, especially in the sort of epilogue that showed what happened to the characters 20 years later. I liked the sets even though the scenes in NYC didn't appear to be filmed there and didn't especially evoke the city. However, there were moments that truly did evoke the Twenties. I did not enjoy Haley Lu Richardson's performance as Louise as much as some other reviewers did. She didn't seem to have the compelling star power that Louise Brooks had, and I found her verbal sparring matches with Norma to be grating and a bit unreal, way too sophisticated and mature for a teenager in Wichita in the 1920s even though she WAS playing a true groundbreaker. Campbell Scott is always a pleasure to watch - in fact most of the other actors were - and Elizabeth McGovern was sympathetic and believable, especially toward the end. I especially loved Reza Gohrig's straightforward and affecting performance as Joseph. It was almost the heart of the movie - if you saw him in Son of Saul, he evokes the same degree of both sympathy and admiration here.

You don't need to bring a chaperone for this one.

[eelen-seth · 6/10 · 22 April 2019]

The Chaperone definitely didn't feel as roaring as they say about the 1920s, so it's safe to say you don't need to bring one yourself.

The film has its pleasures, but nothing too wild actually happens. Which is interesting, since the story is actually about Louise Brooks (Haley Lu Richardson), an actress best known for some provocative silent films and her free-spirited life who was living her life way ahead of time. The other main character who goes through a life changing experience is Norma Carlisle (Downton Abbey's Elizabeth McGovern), Brooks' chaperone.

We meet Norma in Wichita, Kansas, in 1922, where she and her husband Alan (Campbell Scott) are attending an evening of dance to benefit the Children's Home. The star of that event is young Louise, who charmingly glides over the floor in her white robes and captivates Norma within seconds. When she overhears Louise's mother talk about needing a chaperone to accompany Louise to classes given in New York by the biggest company in modern dance, run by Ted Shawn (Robert Fairchild) and Ruth St. Denis (Miranda Otto), she impulsively volunteers for the job.

Soon we'll realise that Norma's marriage is not in an ideal state. But that's not the main reason for the trip: she arrived in Kansas on an orphan train from NYC, and she hopes to find more information about her birth parents in the metropolis. On the other hand, young Louise is only interested in her future and her dreams of becoming the best dancer on the planet. She doesn't believe in rules and isn't afraid to break them, but being a teenager she doesn't have another choice than to bring an adult with her on this voyage.

Early on in the story, it becomes obvious that Louise is a magnet to men of all ages, she can convince them to do anything for her, but also doesn't realise how this makes her look to the world surrounding her. Norma's quote about "men not liking candy that has been unwrapped" will get a much deeper meaning further along in the story. Once arrived in New York, each of them embark on a self-discovering journey that will change their lives forever.

Both writer and director (Julian Fellowes and Michael Engler respectively) worked on the Emmy-winning tv-series Downton Abbey and its forthcoming feature film. The entire idea for the film was pitched by producer and star of the film McGovern, who came across the novel the film is adapted from. It was also great to see Géza Röhrig playing a key role in the story, after seeing his work in Academy Award-winning feature Son of Saul.

Everything is pretty much by the book, but it's wonderful to see two women in different stages of their lives, changing the course of events and by doing so, changing the world around them how big or small that world may be.

Excellent adaptation of book

[jcy992003 · 9/10 · 18 February 2020]

A well-paced and excellent adaptation of the Laura Moriarty novel. The film captures the symmetry between the differences in 1920's Kansas and NYC, as well as the differences between the two main characters, Norma and Louise. Both highly intelligent, Norma is a reflection of the still-Victorian culture of 1922 Kansas while Louise has a near-feral need to burst out of the culture's restrictions. The journey to NYC results in both learning valuable life lessons.

Norma, the title character, is the central point of the film. While Louise becomes the famous one, this movie is not her biography. Her role is one that feeds the Norma character and propels her through the story. Prohibition, post-WWI dynamics and the tossed salad of the 1920's NYC atmosphere provide a fascinating historic framework.

While not for everyone, I highly recommend this film to anyone interested in 20th century US history, and good film making in general.

a visually delightful but flawed period drama

[CineMuseFilms · 6/10 · 6 May 2019]

Fans of period drama will find much to enjoy in The Chaperone (2018). However, those who look for narrative coherence, nuanced characterisation, and casting authenticity, are likely to be disappointed by this film's unfulfilled potential.

Set in early 1920s America, the story is loosely framed around the life of dancer, movie star, and sex-symbol Louisa Brooks (Haley Lu Richardson). We meet her as a precocious 15-year old after she learns that she has been accepted into the avanté garde Denishawn School of Dance in New York. At a soiree performance, her mother expresses concern about securing a chaperone to accompany Louisa to New York, and the socially proper Norma (Elizabeth McGovern) steps forward to offer herself. In a long-term marriage of convenience and with grown-up sons, she wants to use the trip to find her biological mother. Louisa proves to be a handful, and the storyline digresses into her dalliances. Meanwhile Norma enlists the help of orphanage worker Joseph (Géza Rohrig) to search for her mother, and along the way she finds romance as well.

'Loosely framed' is the operative term for describing this film. Although told through the eyes of Norma within a 20-year flashback, the role of chaperone drifts into, then out of, the central narrative arc. It more closely resembles a cultural mosaic of early American society, scooping into one pile every public issue that might have been relevant at the time. This includes female suppression and emancipation, the vestiges of slavery and rise of the Klu Klux Klan, virulent homophobia, and the new-wave of modernisation reflected in the sexuality of bob-haired flappers. One of the film's strengths is how these themes are visually represented on screen, but the shallowness of their treatment and their lack of narrative connection means that the film is nice to look at but goes nowhere in particular.

Weak casting and characterisation are two major distractions that make this film less than satisfying to the critical eye. The 24-year old Haley Lu Richardson has difficulty pulling off the illusion of being 15-year old Louisa; when we meet her again 20 years later, she is even less persuasive. When Norma finds her mother, the reunion is emotionally barren and their apparent age difference implausible. It is difficult to understand why Géza Rohrig is dressed and made up as if he walked straight off the set of the extraordinary Son of Saul (2015), and his voice dubbing is so out of sync he looks like he is mumbling. Fans of Elizabeth McGovern will not forgive this comment, but her limited and imperious expressive range may have worked on Downton Abbey but it struggles here.

Beautiful cinematography and period sets are the film's redeeming features. Moderately entertaining, if at times melodramatic, it has ample visual pleasures despite a finalé devoid of climactic satisfaction when this too long film simply comes to a halt.

Julian Fellows triumphs again

[tm-sheehan · 9/10 · 27 April 2019]

Julian Fellows creator of Downton Abbey and 2002 Oscar Winner for Best Original Screenplay for Gosford Park is a master of storytelling and character development.

The Chaperone is such an interesting insight into the differences in attitudes , judgements and moral and racial prejudices of the early 1920's between 2 American cities Kansas and New York.

I really liked the way Julian Fellows has made The Chaperone Norma the main character rather than her much later famous ward Louise Brooks played beautifully by Haley Lu Richardson , recently also very impressive in Five Feet Apart. The story is seen through the life experience of Norma ,who at first seems uncomplicated and sweet but as the story develops we soon know why Norma's not in Cherryville Kansas anymore .

I think this is the best role I've seen Elizabeth Mc Govern play we're so used to her famous role of Cora Crawley Countess of Grantham that this role as the Chaperone at times very dramatic and other times so touching and intelligent is a refreshing example of this actress and her range.

Louise Brooks went on to become one of the most famous and at times infamous Silent movie Jazz Age Stars and this movie is only a snapshot of Louise before her Hollywood fame. Haley Lu Richardson gives us a glimpse of why her determination and devil may care attitude propelled her to stardom but later sent her crashing to earth and virtual retirement in 1938 until much later her memoir Lulu in Hollywood published in 1982 3 years before she died caused such a renewed interest in her films and talent.

As in previous Julian Fellows productions the attention to detail in costumes sets and direction are faultless .

I really loved this film and thoroughly recommend it.

Professionally Done

[iquine · 7/10 · 10 January 2022]

A married woman, Norma, in the 30s decides to chaperone a young girl, Louise, from Wichita to New York so she can try out for a prestigious dance class. Norma has her own reasons for making the voyage, to learn about her personal heritage but why? There are many situations and talking points that address a traditional small town way of life vs a more free-spirited big city excitement. Especially, while Norma has to play the role of mother to Louise during their excursion. Both woman's character arcs are easily noticeable as they depart the small town for the big city and how both handle the more freeing environment differently. Solid acting, nice period piece sets and costumes. Satiates an appetite for this genre nicely.

Disappointing

[VaneWimsey · 4/10 · 8 April 2019]

If you're expecting a movie about Louise Brooks and the 1920's, forget it.

This movie is mostly about the chaperone. Despite it being set almost 100 years ago, her issues are all very mid-21st century -- gayness, immigrants, feminism, an adoptee identity crisis, and getting laid. And while ordinarily, I love Elizabeth McGovern, she's a little over the top here -- she's working so hard to show every momentary emotion on her face that she's almost twitchy.

Haley Lu Richardson is good as Louise Brooks, but the part is off the shelf -- the snarky, ambitious hot girl. Blythe Danner is also good in a small part.

The costumes are beautiful, but strangely one-note -- there are an awful lot of white or cream dresses paired with brown flowered hats.

Thoroughly Enjoyable

[Tarnia · 8/10 · 26 April 2019]

I aware of Louise Brooks as a big silent movie star but aside from seeing the trailer, I didn't know what to expect. I was completely engrossed by the story of the precocious Louise Brooks' start as a talented dancer & the entwined story of her chaperone, played by Elizabeth McGovern. McGovern's is the main story & charts her growing independence. I loved the shots of New York in the 1920s. The story occurs in the context of the burgeoning women's rights movement, shifting moralities & attitudes towards black Americans. I would have loved to have seen Louise's trajectory in the jazz era movie business & beyond, but that would be a whole other film. Can someone please make it?

The slightest of films

[tex-42 · 6/10 · 12 August 2019]

The Chaperone is a perfectly pleasant film that has very little to say and is mostly forgettable. The movie is told in flashback. Nominally, this movie is about Norma Carlisle, a married society woman from Wichita who impulsively decides to chaperone Louise Brooks (the future silent film star) on a trip to New York City when Brooks is 15 in 1922. Carlisle has her own agenda for New York involving finding her birth mother, and Louise is quite wild. However, the two eventually develop an understanding and get along after some initial problems. Carlisle also finds romance and becomes more empowered in her own life. The movie then returns to its present, 1942, when Brooks is a washed up film star, teetering on the edge of complete ruin. Carlisle gives her a pep talk and sends Brooks on her way back to New York. The movie then ends with a title card which significantly downplays how tragic Brooks' life ended up being. (Essentially, she became an alcoholic sex worker who lived much of her later adult life in abject poverty.)

Overall, the acting in the film is perfectly serviceable. McGovern is fine, the actress playing Brooks is fine. There's just not much here to recommend.

What a let down

[rayres0708 · 2/10 · 12 August 2019]

I loved Downton Abbey and Doctor Thorne. Julian Fellowes rarely disappoints. But this movie was simply ridiculous. I have not read the novel, so I have no idea how closely it followed. But the writing in this movie is painfully dull. The acting left much to be desired. I appreciate some of what they were trying to say - that Norma was oppressed and Louise helped her liberate herself. But that meant living the rest of her life as a lie to keep up appearances with her husband, his lover, and her lover under one roof? That was Norma's life of happiness? And it's implied that Louise Brooks went back out and got her career back and succeeded. She didn't. Her life was a mess. This movie was pure fiction, and it wasn't even entertaining fiction. I really hope the Downton Abbey movie is better than this, Julian!

Opening night in Sydney, Australia.

[carolethecatlover · 9 April 2019]

Saw this last night at the Orpheum in Sydney, Australia, and Ms McGovern (SO THIN!) was there to introduce it! It's a great film about an out-of-left-field topic. Witty, funny and Haley Lu Richards, (Who?) is a major find, perfect in the part. As is Ms McGovern, indeed it is perfectly cast in every part, even the smallest role looks like they belong in the time and place To all the Miranda Otto fans, sorry, she is onscreen for all of 2 minutes, and Blythe Danner for even less, but they add immensely to the texture of the film. This is a film without a message,(well, maybe 'don't wear corsets') with a minor story, and great costumes and it all adds up to WONDERFUL.

fine for TV

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 7 August 2022]

In 1922, Louise Brooks travelled from Wichita, Kansas to New York City with a chaperone. Within a few years, she was to become one of the most famous film stars in the world. Louise (Haley Lu Richardson) is an eager liberated girl learning dance from Ruth St. Denis (Miranda Otto) and her husband Ted Shawn. The chaperone Norma (Elizabeth McGovern) is more traditional. She's pro-abolition and anti-Klan. She was adopted and is using the trip to search for her birth parents.

There is a bit of drama but not much in this costume drama. It's a lowkey character study of these two women. Here's the thing. These are big personal revelations but they don't seem that big in the modern sense. Sure it's big for these characters but it's all been done before. More than anything, it feels like it's been done before. Also the opening text takes away some of the tension and puts the movie squarely in the past. It's the past even in relation to the story. While I generally like Haley Lu Richardson, she's not the wild child aspiring movie star. There is a difference even with the snippets in the closing credits. Apparently, this is crewed by some of the Downton Abbey people and it has a very similar tone. It's fine for TV but it needs more intensity.

Different angle

[SunnyDaise · 6/10 · 21 October 2021]

At a time when a lot of content revolves around LGBTQ+ people, it is original to flip that round and focus on the wife of a gay man. Everything we do in life has an effect on others, so I appreciated seeing that angle on this topic.

Beautiful film

[horizonmc · 9/10 · 5 May 2019]

We loved this movie, acting, costumes and settings are wonderful. Highly recommend especially if you love Downtown Abney or period dramas. Thoroughly enjoyable, still thinking about the storyline of this beautiful film.

Throw away the corset

[magnoliacream · 7/10 · 30 July 2023]

It's 1922 and Louise Brooks (Haley Lu Richardson), a bubbly ambitious young woman in Wichita Kansas, has been accepted to train at the Denishawn School of Dancing in New York city. Mother-of-two Norma Carlisle (Elizabeth McGovern), wife of lawyer Alan Carlisle (Campbell Scott), volunteers to chaperone her.

The independent-minded Louise initially clashes with the proper Norma, going out drinking past her bedtime and watching theater with colored people, among others. But eventually, the two learn to understand each other, such as agreeing that corsets are not needed.

Norma has ulterior reasons for accompanying Louise. One is her less than perfect home life, with a secret she just found out about Alan. Another thing, before being adopted by a sweet farming couple in Kansas, she used to live in an orphanage in New York. She visits the orphanage to find out about her biological parents. Being barred from seeing her records by the nuns of the orphanage, she seeks the help of a worker named Joseph (Géza Röhrig). She is able to find not only her mother but love as well.

Meanwhile, Louise impresses her teachers and is offered opportunities that lead to her becoming a world renowned actress.

It seems that when Norma got rid of her corset, she also threw away societal norms. Twenty years later, the effects of Norma's decision to embrace whatever life throws at her is apparent in the peaceful Carlisle household. In her own quiet way, Norma is able make an extended family, including Joseph and his daughter Greta plus Alan's special friend, exist harmoniously together.

Loved This Movie

[conway3000 · 10/10 · 13 April 2019]

This movie written by Julian Fellows was even better than anticipated! The two lead actresses of Elizabeth McGovern and Haley Lu Richardson were perfectly cast-especially Haley Lu as a young Louise Brooks. There was also some great small roles filled by Blythe Danner, Campbell Scott and Miranda Otto. Each of these actors played a small but pivotal role. I look forward to see Haley Lu Richardson in other roles.

elizabeth mcgovern as beautiful as ever

[ops-52535 · 5/10 · 21 August 2019]

Must be the main topic in the discussion and reviews after watching the chaperone. mary lou richardson is also a smasher, in this rather eventless flick, although it is a great periodic 1920's set/decorations and costume vise.

the story and plot are a bit confusing because its a kind of biographic flick about 1920-30's film and dance star louise brooks. in the film things happens in wichita and new yourk, but when reading the biography it tells you that mostly all her activities where done in the los angeles area.

the story are flat the pace is slow and will for me the grumpy old man be remembered for mrs mcgovern, and that it is 35 years ago i got a naked glimpse of her in the crime drama Once Upon a Time in America. its a film to allof them who loves classic british drama series, and vintage films from the prohibition america

Fellows is. Mater Craftman!

[ppetretich-1 · 10/10 · 30 November 2019]

Downtown Abby comes to New York! The production is beautifully done, acting and background settings are wonderfully amazing. The story stays with you long after the movie is over.

Enjoy

Long winded and unsatisfying

[pilot1009 · 3/10 · 4 October 2019]

Not a Downton Abbey, drags on an on getting nowhere, and finishes in an unsatisfying mess. Wish I had not seen it. Julian Fellowes does a great job usually but this one is a bust, not recommended except for insomniacs.

Acting was good but the srcipt was garbage.

Charming period story with modern themes

[phd_travel · 9/10 · 25 August 2019]

This is a delightful and moving story set in the 20s that has some surprisingly modern themes that come through. Elizabeth McGovern shows a range of acting she wasn't able to display in Downton Abbey. She is touching and very sympathetic as a lady married to a gay man who takes a break and accompanies a young Dancer to NYC. Haley Lu Richardson is sweet as the dancer but she doesn't have a dancer's body or form. Eye opening look at norms of the past.

Very enjoyable.

Good

[evans-15475 · 9/10 · 14 July 2022]

Much better than I was expecting indeed better than both the downton films,well plotted and held my interest through out, I did have a bit of an issue with attaching a fictitious story to a real event indeed looking up Louise Brooks she deserves better to say I was amazed there were more nude pictures of the real Louise in the 1930s than the actress who played her here would be an understatement and if it wasn't for the hays code the sexual revolution would probably have happened in the 40s.