It’s very interesting how first time writer/director J.P. Schaeffer goes about telling this man’s story; he chooses some very unorthodox techniques as far as when and how he shows the events. We know from the first few minutes of the film that Chapman has already killed Lennon and is in a mental hospital telling the story to “someone” and the identity of that someone is a nice little twist to the film. On day one of the three days we will see Chapman in a cab talking to the driver about where he came from and where he’s going and suddenly we will be flashed a few frames of Lennon’s body being taken away in an ambulance. The film acknowledges that we all know what happened on December 8, 1980 in New York City and thus it goes about telling the story accordingly.

Not unlike last year’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, the film portrays Chapman as half of what he was – an obsessive fan. The other half, which is unlike Jesse James, is he’s a killer and a psychopath. Both films have weaker, more obsessive characters than each of their celebrities and there’s a strange “must do it” mentality to them both. Even though they are their victims' “biggest fans” they ultimately are the undoing of them.

I am not quite sure that Chapter 27 has enough in it to sustain its 80 minute runtime. Although the film had me for a good hour of it I did feel, even at such a short length, that it dragged. However Leto is fascinating enough in the role and his performance is what ultimately makes the film thoroughly worthwhile.