Trying too hard to be helpful, Mabel gives the less-seasoned Rosenthal a quick acting lesson, during which Schimberg cuts between close-ups of his stars’ faces. Part of the sweetness of the film is that Rosenthal quickly emerges as the most good-humored person on set, and Pearson as an actor of great charm. (The name Rosenthal may mark him as an outsider in a different sense — that is, as a Jew.)

“Chained for Life” aims to complicate ideas about what constitutes beauty and sincerity onscreen. It even hints at a loose parallel between plastic surgery, which can be seen as helping people look the way they feel inside, and filmmaking; both are mechanisms for creating illusions, but also have the potential for revealing hidden truths. Schimberg’s film is odd, darkly funny and — when it means to be — a little frightening.

Chained for Life

Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 31 minutes.