Richard Attenborough's films in the nineties were a series of biopics that dealt, almost exclusively, around the themes of identity and self-deception of the characters they depicted. 'Shadowlands' detailed the tragic love affair between C.S Lewis and American poet Joy Grisham, whilst 'In Love And War' and 'Grey Owl' dealt with the early life of Ernest Hemingway and the story of Englishman Archibald Belaney as he passed himself off as a Native Indian guide, respectively. However Attenborough's most underrated (and certainly best) film of the nineties was 'Chaplin' - the biopic of the enigmatic filmmaker that saw Robert Downey Jr's performance earn him an Oscar nomination. Whilst Downey Jr was (rightly) given credit to his performance, the film as a whole was disappointingly ignored as a nomination for Best Picture. The film depicts Chaplin as a man at odds with himself and his own sense of identity - discontent with his public appearance versus his personal private issues. Some say it plods through Chaplin's extensive life from a child street-busker to the old man on the stage at the Oscars without much in the way of exciting drama or revolutionary storytelling. However, these criticisms often neglect the detailed character-study the film offers; it picks away at its protagonist in a way that translates as a very honest and ultimately endearing biopic that informs as much as it entertains.
