Charlie Countryman

Cast of Characters:

Charlie Countryman - Shia LaBeouf

Gabi Ibanescu - Evan Rachel Wood

Nigel - Mads Mikkelsen

Darko - Til Schweiger

Karl - Rupert Grint

Ashley - Aubrey Plaza

Luc - James Buckley

Bill - Vincent D'Onofrio

Kate Countryman - Melissa Leo

Director - Fredrik Bond

Screenplay - Matt Drake

Rated R for some brutal violence, language throughout, sexuality/nudity and drug use

      Shia LaBeouf, Evan Rachel Wood and Academy Award winner Melissa Leo star in the indie romantic flick Charlie Countryman.

      When we first meet Charlie Countryman (Shia LaBeouf), he's dangling upside-down by some rope above a river. How exactly did he get to that point?

      Immediately following the death of his mother Kate (Melissa Leo), Charlie is visited by a vision of his mother, who tells him to travel to Bucharest. Why Bucharest? Who really knows? 1) 'Cause I guess the film goes nowhere if he doesn't somehow get to Bucharest, and 2) If not Bucharest, we can't get jokes like, "Are you sure she didn't mean Budapest?", which is mentioned time after time again in the film.

      Upon arriving in Bucharest, Charlie meets Gabi Ibanescu (Evan Rachel Wood), the daughter of the man he sat next to on the plane who died mid-flight. Charlie and Gabi strike up a friendship that could potentially lead to something more, that is, if not for the fact that she is married to Nigel (Mads Mikkelsen), a violent and unstable crime boss.

      This is the type of film that promises to be something unique and special when you first see the trailer... Then you see the film. While not a train wreck like other reviews have been stating, this isn't great by any means either. This is your typical style over substance kind of film. I'm not against "artsy" films. Exhibit A: Terrence Malick. It's visually pleasant at times, but I still felt the film's style, courtesy of Fredrik Bond's overly-ambitious direction, came off as unnecessary at times, like it's desperately trying to come off "indie". I get it. Crank up the nightclub music and throw the scene in slow-motion and we're somehow supposed to "feel" the moment all the more. On top of that, Matt Drake's screenplay suffers from a few pointless characters. Melissa Leo is a wonderful actress, but the subplot involving her ghost guiding Charlie to Romania did nothing for me. That's no mark against her, that's all on Drake. The same could be said for Charlie's dopey friends played by James Buckley and a post-Hogwarts Rupert Grint. There's absolutely no point to have them in this film other than for its comic relief moments. The only thing I gained from Grint's wannabe porn star character is that he's trying way too hard to break away from Potter's shadow. Keep trying, Rupert and don't try too hard next time. By the way, Hermione's got you beat. We also get Aubrey Plaza in a "blink and you'll miss her" cameo appearance as Charlie's ex-girlfriend and Til Schweiger is pretty much wasted in a throwaway villain role. Yet, in spite of all that, the film somewhat still maintained my interested, solely in part to three great performances from LaBeouf, Wood and Mikkelsen. Both Wood, in her hundredth film that requires her to be caked under six pounds of eye shadow and LaBeouf, once again looking like he hasn't bathed in a year, have a natural chemistry together. In fact, those two are the reason I wished the flash and style was toned down. All the flash gets in their way and hinders the relationship between them. On a side note, as natural as Wood's Romanian accent sounds, a part of me wondered why didn't they just go for one of the many Romanian/Eastern European actresses out there? I know I'm nitpicking, and once again, Wood does a fine job, but, hey, I'm just trying to save the filmmakers from having to pay for a dialect coach. Mads Mikkelsen doesn't really have to say anything to get you to believe he's a crazy son of a bitch. All he has to do is just stand there and he sells it. He's been doing that since I first noticed him in Casino Royale. The big surprise, for me, is LaBeouf. I've stated before on here that I've never been much a fan of his. He just hasn't done enough to thoroughly convince me he's a go-to lead guy. He certainly did a fine job in Lawless, but he was easily overshadowed by the rest of the very talented cast. He also was solid earlier this year in Robert Redford's The Company You Keep, despite the fact that I had a hard time buying that his character was smart enough to connect the dots with that entire radical 60's organization. Here, he's solid once again. For some reason, in spite of those three films, I'm not completely convinced yet... but he's heading in the right direction and this is the first time he actually got me to feel for the character he is playing (Were you expecting it to be Transformers 2 and 3?). If he keeps it up, he may have me sold for good.

      Charlie Countryman does suffer from too much style for its own good. The movie clearly would've benefited from dialing it down so not to distract the audience from the LaBeouf-Wood relationship. Trimming away some of the superfluous characters wouldn't have hurt either. Still, I was on the fence, but I can justify a moderate recommendation for this, 'cause of the three main performances. It's one of those come and go quickly type of films and is on Video on Demand now. I give Charlie Countryman a C (★★½).