his drama, about the three days leading up to the murder, never overcomes its inherent ghoulishness, largely because Chapman, like so many mentally ill people, is a huge bore.
– J. R. Jones,
Chicago Reader,
25 Apr 2008
rotten:
Chapter 27 just makes you feel bad for, and about, everybody -- including the wretched souls who made the thing.
– Jim Emerson,
Chicago Sun-Times,
25 Apr 2008
fresh:
By the end of this modest, strange venture, Leto made me believe it was worth being forced to hang out on the sidewalk with this man, if only to get a creeping sense of what that might've been like.
– Michael Phillips,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Apr 2008
fresh:
The film is impressively mounted and Schaefer has made a directorial debut of distinction, but it is an uncomfortable ride from the opening scenes of Chapman arriving in New York to the inevitable, inexorable final scene.
– Joel Selvin,
San Francisco Chronicle,
18 Apr 2008
fresh:
Chapter 27 is far from flawless, but Leto disappears inside this angry, mouth-breathing psycho geek with a conviction that had me hanging on his every delusion.