We found this one on Netflix streaming movies. It is very hard to define but we enjoyed it for its quirkiness. We never knew what to expect next.
It starts in Chicago. Shia LaBeouf is Charlie Countryman, sort of floating through his existence. He is home, summoned by his dad (Vincent D'Onofrio) telling him "it is time, your mom." Then we see them at a hospital, his dying mother (Melissa Leo) in a hospital bed. Hope is gone, it is time to take her off the machines.
Charlie can't take it, he goes across the hall and sits on the floor with his back to the wall. He looks left and there is his mother, sitting beside him. They talk for a while, and he says, "What should I do mom, please be specific this one time, tell me what to do." She says, "I got it. Go to Bucharest." "Why mom?" "I don't know, it seems specific."
And with that opening we know this will not be your usual movie with usual characters and usual story arc. Charlie does indeed travel to Bucharest, and on the plane has one more opportunity to speak with someone who just dies, this time the dad of a pretty Romanian cellist Evan Rachel Wood as Gabi Ibanescu.
But Gabi has some bad connections, namely Mads Mikkelsen as the very brutal Nigel who says he is Gabi's husband. It is clear that she is trying to distance herself from, with not much luck so far. Then there is another thug to worry about, Til Schweiger as Darko.
The movie is a combination of serious themes, e.g. love and murder, along with several humorous themes. I suppose thinking of it as a dark romantic comedy would be most accurate.
In the end Charlie does come out alive, and it seems he and Gabi might be able to explore their newfound affection for each other. But Charlie, beaten up and bloody, manages to see his mother one more time, "When I told you to go to Bucharest, I meant Budapest. I get them all mixed up. Classic me, huh?", smiling.
But then he would never have met Gabi!
It starts in Chicago. Shia LaBeouf is Charlie Countryman, sort of floating through his existence. He is home, summoned by his dad (Vincent D'Onofrio) telling him "it is time, your mom." Then we see them at a hospital, his dying mother (Melissa Leo) in a hospital bed. Hope is gone, it is time to take her off the machines.
Charlie can't take it, he goes across the hall and sits on the floor with his back to the wall. He looks left and there is his mother, sitting beside him. They talk for a while, and he says, "What should I do mom, please be specific this one time, tell me what to do." She says, "I got it. Go to Bucharest." "Why mom?" "I don't know, it seems specific."
And with that opening we know this will not be your usual movie with usual characters and usual story arc. Charlie does indeed travel to Bucharest, and on the plane has one more opportunity to speak with someone who just dies, this time the dad of a pretty Romanian cellist Evan Rachel Wood as Gabi Ibanescu.
But Gabi has some bad connections, namely Mads Mikkelsen as the very brutal Nigel who says he is Gabi's husband. It is clear that she is trying to distance herself from, with not much luck so far. Then there is another thug to worry about, Til Schweiger as Darko.
The movie is a combination of serious themes, e.g. love and murder, along with several humorous themes. I suppose thinking of it as a dark romantic comedy would be most accurate.
In the end Charlie does come out alive, and it seems he and Gabi might be able to explore their newfound affection for each other. But Charlie, beaten up and bloody, manages to see his mother one more time, "When I told you to go to Bucharest, I meant Budapest. I get them all mixed up. Classic me, huh?", smiling.
But then he would never have met Gabi!