“Society matron Norma Carlisle (Elizabeth McGovern) volunteers to accompany future Jazz Age star and free spirit Louise Brooks (Haley Lu Richardson) for a summer in New York. But why does she want to go? It’s a story full of surprises — about who these women really are, and who they eventually become. Written by Julian Fellowes and based on the beloved novel by Laura Moriarty.”

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In the mid-1920s, Wichita resident and apparently meek housewife Norma Carlisle agrees to chaperones a fifteen year-old Louise Brooks to New York City, where she will study dance at the famous Denishawn school. Brooks, free from her overbearing parents, wants to experiment and explore, while Carlisle appears austere. However, they will finds common grounds as they both have their secrets and wounds to heal. It appears that Carlisle has her own agenda in going to NYC as she also seeks freedom…

I found this movie nearly boring, as it lacks excitement. It is a little drab and bland. The acting also shows little spark and emotion. The most interesting part of the movie is its biographical aspects. I learned a lot about Louise Brooks who will move from dancer (first with the Denishawn school troupe and later as a chorus girl with the Ziegfeld Follies) to actress (first in Hollywood with Paramount mostly for silent movies from 1925 to 1929, then in Europe in 1929-30, and back in Hollywood with talkies from 1931-38). She was the quintessential flapper. After falling into oblivion and hardship, her movies were rediscovered in the mid-50s and she reinvented herself with a writing career.

The Chaperone was less appreciated by the critics (with very average ratings of 44% on Rotten Tomatoes and 48% on Metacritic) than by the audience (6.5 on IMDb and 80% on Rotten Tomatoes). I think it is just a curiosity mostly for the fans of Downton Abbey’s Julian Fellows and Elizabeth McGovern.

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ Amazon • Biblio • Google • IMDb • PBS • Wikipedia ]

Also, you can check the official trailer on Youtube:

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