Film review: A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman (15)
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.This animated "biopic" of former "Python" Chapman is a frustrating endeavour. It is narrated from beyond the grave by Chapman (who died in 1989) himself. (He had recorded an audio version of his memoirs.)
Although the film gives us a strong sense of Chapman's quixotic personality, the storytelling is wayward and impressionistic. Chapman is a funny but extremely unreliable narrator. We get little of the context or detail that might have been found in a documentary. Nor is there much sense of drama.
Everything about the film, from the different styles of animation to Chapman's narration, is anarchic and chaotic. There are some glorious moments along the way (Chapman holding forth on sex or evoking his early wartime childhood in surrealistic fashion) but also some very insipid and baffling ones.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments