The Man Who Shot John Lennon

On December 8, 1980 John Lennon was shot outside the Dakota hotel in New York City by 25-year-old Mark Chapman. Nearly a decade later, we are given this obnoxious - and wholly unnecessary-portrait of the killer. Since most of the interviewees sound as if they're talking underwater (or worse, are complemented by the voice of the narrator at equal volume resulting in total cacophony) it's not always easy to understand what people are saying. But the gist of it seems to be this: Mark Chapman was a "fine young boy", a "totally sincere, totally honest" lamb of a person who got caught up in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, and somehow thought that Salinger was saying kill the phony adults. At no time does this infuriating program suggest that Chapman misread Salinger. Nor does it suggest that he was a total psychotic. Nor does it even suggest that John Lennon was anything other than a phony. It ends with the tidbit that John Hinckley had a copy of Salinger's book in his possessions (did he have any other books? most likely,) and the remark that "a single story can lead to murder." In the final analysis, the filmmakers have nothing to illuminate, the interviewees just want to be in front of the camera, and listening to Chapman blather on about his screwed-up life is actually less interesting than attending a road workers' jackhammer concert. If this wasn't a family newsletter, we'd lay our professionalism aside and just say that this film is total bullshit. Not recommended. (See GIVE ME YOUR ANSWER TRUE for availability.)