Chopsticks (2001) User Reviews

A little gem!

[jmac71 · 9/10 · 26 March 2008]

Beautifully put together, this short is a little gem. It's wonderful to see Ron Moody still working his magic on the screen. His role here echoes his Oscar-nominated performance as Fagin in Oliver! You know you've seen something good when you find yourself quoting lines - "Perfection has a price!"

Nicely directed, it's visually imaginative - there's a dream sequence that could have come straight out of Hitchcock's Spellbound - and excellent use of music to tell the story.

Like your favorite dusty old book, Chopsticks has an old-world charm about it that I found refreshing. At the beginning of the film you are rooting for the pupil (played by Matthew Pidgeon). Ron Moody's character first comes across as a deluded, bitter old man but by the end he's the one you have sympathy for.

A rare find...

[robinsn-2 · 10/10 · 29 March 2006]

Having seen so many shoddy shorts, it's fantastic to find one that is so well crafted. The direction, acting, script and special effects are all exceptional. The film is full of wit and has a warmth that make it a rare find. Although an aged Ron Moody looks barely recognizable from his "Oliver" days, he is still a class act and delivers a performance that's full of nuance and skill. Matthew Pigeon does such a fine job opposite him at playing "naive" that you can't help wonder where he was when you needed to sell that old second hand car! If you want something that doesn't rely on zany or slapstick humor for it's laughs and feel like something refreshingly more subtle, then I would suggest you take a look at this. It's a charming classic well worth a watch....

A modern fairy tale, like Fight Club without the fighting

[Travis_Buttle · 10/10 · 4 June 2004]

In this delightful short film we meet a hero, who, in his quest for some depth and knowledge of music discovers not himself but the shallowness of perfection. The script is clever, the direction cleverer still and despite its self-consciousness the film making seems effortless like the melody in a good tune. Stromberg is at once pompous and pathetic, while Jeremy in his desperate struggle to impress his tutor becomes increasingly blind to his own inadequacy and the absurd demands placed upon him. Aside from it's comedy and the way the narrative places the audience in a haughty position it still has a heart and the closing sequence still brings a tear to my eye.

Rocksolid from beginning to end

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 13 July 2019]

"Chopsticks" is a British English-language movie from 2001 that was written and directed by John MacInnes. It runs for 13.5 minutes and takes us into the world of music, piano playing to be more precise. The main reason why this is probably not completely forgotten by now is that Ron Moody plays the male co-lead and he is an Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner for the Best Picture winning musical Oliver! from way before this short was made. But now back to this one here. I kinda enjoyed it, the dramatic as well as funny parts. The last shot is also pretty nice. The story and plot feel a bit unusual, not as clean-cut as you might think, but fairly unexpected also with the big jumps in time (several months) and location (from the piano chamber to a party). Moody's character is certainly more memorable than the actual central character, but that is alright. He is not the guy from Whiplash and neither is he F. Murray Abraham from Amadeus. It is all more harmless really, even if he performs sligthly physical pain on his student early on. But he is not always in control as you could think he is. All in all, not a film that really impressed me or blew me away, but it is a little enjoyable movie and I certainly give it a thumbs-up. Definitely also worth checking out if you have never heard of Moody before and really no connection with piano playing (like myself) because I know I had a good time. And honestly at easily under 15 minutes, you cannot make too much wrong. Go for it! You'll also listen to some good music in the process.