Monsieur Verdoux (1947)

Charlie Chaplin’s “Monsieur Verdoux”

Thematic Elements: 

After the second World War ended in 1945, many films questioned the very nature of morality. It was a time of reflection for the whole world, and film would offer some philosophical quandaries about what it means to be moral and what it means to get by in a dark and sinister landscape. Charlie Chaplin’s Monsieur Verdoux would explore morality and crime through its central protagonist, a serial killer named Henry Verdoux.

The reason for Henry’s killings is to take care of his son and paraplegic wife. After being a bank teller for thirty years, Henry had to resort to killing wealthy widows in order to steal their money to give to his family. Chaplin does not present Henry as a vile and vicious man, but rather a dapper dandy who is just doing what he feels he needs to do. As you watch the film, you cannot help but root for Henry, as he is both an intelligent and respectable gentleman as well as offering the viewer a reason for his dastardly crimes. 

Even though he is a cold-blooded killer, there are moments throughout the film that point to his good nature. When he meets the girl who was just released from jail, he plans on poisoning her for practice (to make sure the poison won’t show up in any toxicology report). She divulges that she once had a true love, worthy of self-sacrifice – an invalid who was totally dependent on her – who ended up dying while she was in jail.  After this information, Henry feels empathy for her and spares her. The platonic relationship he has with this girl continues throughout the film, as she keeps popping into his life. Her presence offers some sort of grounding peace of mind in the film. While Henry is off making his rounds jumping from place to place enacting his crimes, the viewer feels a sense of restless energy. Chaplin orchestrates this reckless energy with his pacing and continued use of the train wheels – signifying the constant state of being ‘on the move’ for Henry. However, the girl in picture offers a breather. Not only does she slow down the pacing, but she offers philosophical pondering on the nature of life. Her and Henry discuss the approaching and inevitable death that awaits them, musing on how it affects their actions. Henry posits to her, “This is a ruthless world, and one must be ruthless to cope with it.” This sentiment seems to be the pondering point of the film. Even if Henry seems morally corrupted, it seems that it is the world itself that is morally corrupt – forcing Henry to conform to this immorality in order to keep up with his survival. 

At the end of the film, Henry essentially turns himself in. He does not feel shameful about his actions throughout his film, he only views them as necessary. And perhaps, his actions instilled meaning and gave him purpose. His continued reference to his thirty years of working as a bank teller can be mused as being a dull existence, filled with monotony and without meaning. His newfound life in which he is constantly on the move, constantly meeting new people, and being able to provide for himself seems to give his life new purpose. And perhaps it was never about the money at all. At one point in the film, his wife tells him that she would just as happy without the security if it meant getting to be with him more. At the end of the film, he even confesses that his wife and son died after the financial crash of Europe. The way he describes their death is eerily similar to the way he describes his killings throughout the film. Perhaps he killed his wife and son when he realized there was no longer any ability to continue to care for them, or even more so – realizing that he would have stop the charade. So, it seems that Henry has tried to fill his life with meaning or something to drown out his purposeless existence. But Henry posits to the jury at his trial that he never acted immoral. He notions that the world itself is immoral, saying that his killing cannot compare to the largescale killings brought about by war and mankind itself. As a viewer, you a forced to empathize with Henry and by the end, you root for him. After the credits end, you question the nature of crime, the nature of evil and immorality, and even humankind itself. Monsieur Verdoux is not an evil man, but rather he is just a man – a man just trying to survive, as well as find meaning and purpose in his short existence. 

Camerawork: 

Push-Ins: Chaplin really seems to love using push-ins in his films, in Monsieur Verdoux in particular. His use of push-ins forces the viewer to push-in their focus on the scene. Other times, it is simply a device used from going from a wide to a closer view of the events happening on screen. Chaplin seems to like having the entire bodies of the characters perfectly fit into each frame. Since Monsieur Verdoux is an organized and dapper fellow, the shots themselves are very organized and very ‘just-so’ – and only ever providing the viewer with the information as efficiently as possible. Chaplin isn’t one to be excessive. 

Transitions: When notifying the viewer of Henry’s movements, Chaplin cuts to the image of turning train wheels. This lets the audience know anytime Henry is in a new location in the next scene. It also adds to the quick-paced energy of the film and of Henry’s busy lifestyle. 

Zoom-In: When Henry is told that his money was completely wiped out from the European market crash, the camera zooms in on his devastated face. The zoom is meant to close Henry into the frame, creating a sense of devastation, holding Henry tightly in frame unable to move. Perhaps this devastation comes from Henry realizing that he can no longer economically protect his family. Perhaps the other reason for the devastation is Henry realizing that he no longer has an excuse for his lifestyle, thereby eliminating his meaning and purpose for his existence. Either way, this zoom-in makes the moment more palpable and realized to the viewer.

Best Shot: 

The best shot of the film comes with the closing movements. Henry marches off to the guillotine, ready to answer for his crimes. The shot is similar to Chaplin’s iconic endings to The Circus and Modern Times, in which the Tramp walks off into the sunset to a destination the viewer can only assume is more tragic. This is the same. Henry walks off to the death he has been waiting for throughout the film – the death that forced him to provide him with purpose. After being content with the actions in his film, Henry is now finally content with the end as well.