Charlie Chaplin
Monsieur Verdoux

"Wars, conflicts: all business... One murder is a crime, a million is heroism. Numbers legalize, my dear friend"

This is perhaps the most representative sentence from "Monsieur Verdoux," a dark comedy written, directed, and performed in 1947 by that genius Charlie Chaplin. The film tells the story of a modest bank clerk who, after the economic crisis of '29 and the subsequent dismissal, starts marrying older women to later kill them and pocket their inheritance. Verdoux, the title’s character, is a gentleman serial killer who views his crimes as mere "business" to keep himself and his family afloat (he has a disabled wife and a little son to support). But events will eventually lead the protagonist to the guillotine.

The greatness of this film, underrated and unknown to many, lies in the effectiveness and lightness with which Chaplin "transforms" into a ruthless killer, yet driven to this by a rotten society that wages wars, using increasingly powerful and lethal weapons and instruments. A single murder is a crime, a million is heroism. Exactly.
Beyond this great moral lesson from the "wise" Charlie, the film is highly enjoyable and also very very funny, especially in the scenes with Annabella, one of the wives Verdoux tries to kill without ever succeeding. The British director never loses his great comic verve but continues to show the dark side of laughter. The world is unjust and ruthless, and to survive, some people are willing to do anything. The same goes for Verdoux, who, however, manages not to come across as unlikeable. Chaplin takes us by the hand and critically leads us into human immorality and this violent capitalist society, where the worst values of human existence always triumph.

It is unknown whether there is still hope for man, maybe yes or maybe no... but Chaplin's social critique is very strong, and the viewer feels no shame in siding with him, with the killer Verdoux, because the character is one of the most interesting ever: a "villain" who is a bearer of morality, a desperate man who keeps himself afloat with his own skills. An invaluable sarcastic figure who manages to be loved by the audience, especially when he is about to lose his head on the guillotine. And I have lost my head for this wonderful film.

I highly recommend it to you because in my opinion it is the greatest performance of a superb actor like Charlie Chaplin, who here sets aside the famous figure of the tramp Charlot. And the result, in my opinion, is exciting. And thrilling.