The Idle Class

Originally published without a star rating in Issue 3 of VHS Tracking (‘Actors’, June 2017), a film zine edited by Tristan Fidler which is presented in the format of those ‘We Recommend…’ pamphlet guides once available in video rental stores. You can grab a copy at Highgate Continental and The Bird in Perth, Sticky Institution in Melbourne, or by contacting vhstrackingzine@gmail.com.

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The Idle Class (Charles Chaplin, 1921)
★★★½

I’ve never been able to get attached to screen actors because I’m not adept at separating good performances from bad films (and vice versa), and for every great project that great actors do, they seem to do three or four awful ones and let me down. The exception for me is Chaplin, who is integrated perfectly into every element of his films. Chaplin the actor and Chaplin the director: they’re one and the same.

There are many masterpieces to choose from, but my recommendation is the short film The Idle Class because it’s the one I’ve rewatched most recently. The film treats us to two amazing variations of Chaplin’s character – one filthy rich, one filthy poor – who are somehow still exactly the same. It also contains some of his simplest and smartest visual gags, and he manages to make golf hilarious.

There’s rarely any context given in Chaplin’s films because none is needed. Every gesture, every object, every angle, tells us precisely who he is and where he’s been, what he’s feeling and why the world can’t accommodate him. The Idle Class demonstrates his charm and genius in spades.