Charlie Countryman (2013) User Reviews

Unlikely love story with good twist

[viceroy_88 · 6/10 · 17 February 2014]

Protagonists Shia LeBeouf - the stuttering Transformers boy - supported by Evan Rachel Wood, and antagonists Mads Mikkelsen and Til Schweiger, also with Rupert Grint (Harry Potter's Ron Weasley).

Poster, cast, trailer, and IMDb good rating were what made me watch this indie movie which I usually don't give an interest. Interesting poster art with 90-degree orientation, sharp stare, beautiful colors, and Evan Rachel Wood's face lurking back behind LeBeouf's face. The poster reminds me of Limitless, which tells us a story about a kind of drug that maximizes your brain capacity.

But the story is different than Limitless. The only same thing is the pupil on the poster. If in Limitless the pupil portrays a brilliant mind after consuming NZT, here it depicts hallucinations. The love story is unlikely, a blind act of love with courage to take unknown risks.

The movie has several draggy parts, a little bit of action during the last 15 minutes, a bit of funny/corny scenes, and a particular twist at the end which successfully upped my personal rating about this movie.

The cinematography was good, showing a little view of Bucharest painted with interesting colors, and accompanied by good soundtracks. The acting is good too, I like Evan Rachel Wood's Russioan accent even though I don't know whether people in Romania use that accent. LeBeouf also seems to gave his all despite his stuttering. Not forgetting the antagonists that gives a scary impression.

It felt like watching a movie based on a graphic novel. Those who loves indie movies should see this.

A unique modern day fable

[eddie_baggins · 7/10 · 13 April 2014]

Nigh on impossible to categorize, kookier than a Tim Burton Halloween party, an at times borderline incoherent shambles and a film destined for a life time in the Cult selection of cinema, Fredrik Bond's energetic and unique The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman is an absolute blast of fresh air that despite all its many faults and inadequacies is a film well worth tracking down for its undeniable charms and ability to never conform to expectations.

The story at the centre of Charlie Countryman feels no need to adhere to much formal structure or the ABC's of movie storytelling and fly's the line between being a straight up drama, a love story, a frenetic thriller and some type of modern day fairy tale where the dead talk and Mads Mikkelsen wears a vast array of insane shirts with a highlight being his sausage dog getup. Charlie's journey to Bucharest is undertaken because his dead mum told him to go there and once there the story continues to surprise, frustrate and involve in equal measure and Bond has such a keen eye for not only the eye-popping visual (a scene where Charlie and his new friends Luc and Carl played by the Inbetweeners Buckley and a very naughty wizard in the form of Grint first party a particular highpoint) but a great feel for the pace and structure of the film that you can't help but go along with all its craziness and you'll find yourself asking internally "since when has Shia LaBeouf been so tolerable?".

In a role that showcases a talent that is missing far too often in his other projects LaBeouf delivers here in what could be his best role outside of kids classic Holes. Charlie is clearly a messed up person and LaBeouf plays him to perfection with the right amount of vulnerability, smarts and craziness that while hard to relate to is always watchable. LaBeouf is well supported by the other cast members and in particular by a menacing Mads Mikkelsen who continues to impress in everything he does. Mikkelsen's role of drug dealing gangster Nigel is a strange one but fits in well with the films tone. Evan Rachael Wood is perhaps the films weak link in a role that doesn't exactly click in the ways we needed for the love story to be more involving.

Not for everyone and as stated early filled with many various faults The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman is also more enjoyable the countless other films released on a week to week basis. A fine debut film by director Bond and a role that shows LaBeouf can in fact act and act well, Charlie Countryman should be sort out but perhaps not by Harry Potter fans who wish to remember Ron Weasley as a clean cut ginger wizard not a budding adult movie star called Boris Pecker.

3 and a half hard partying Ronald Weasley's out of 5

For more movie reviews and opinions check out -

www.jordanandeddie.wordpress.com

The Sincere and Stylish efforts of a Plagiarist!

[sohansurag · 7/10 · 24 December 2013]

The things we do for love. People end up doing the dumbest things when in love, its a known fact. Love is blind, they say and 'they' are true, most of the time if not all. Charlie Countryman is the story of Charlie played by Shia LaBeuof in a similar scenario. The director Fredrick Bond's debut movie, Charlie Countryman stands out in terms of visual flair and style.

Shia LaBeuof, surprisingly shows off his astounding acting skills here. He's come a long way from his Witwicky days and it shows. Charlie was a splendid role Shia was put into, quirky and goofy still, but way better than his earlier works. I'd say he displays a much more mature performance here. And it remains to see how well he'll perform in Lars Von Triers' erotic epic Nymphomaniac. It was hard to take eyes off Evan Rachel Wood who was inexplicably gorgeous as Gabi. Except when she talked in a odd Romanian accent, when half of the charm jumped off a cliff. It was hard to believe Charlie and Gabi could fall in love in such a short time. I can infer Charlie's feelings for her, being as naive as he was but Gabi, having gone through a fair chunk of regretful past, it just felt weird that she got smitten by him; nonetheless it worked wonders when they were on screen together. Mads Mikkelsen plays the psychopath thug Nigel and couldn't be more insane and intimidating.

The movie has a weak storyline and a weaker screenplay, but those are forgettable when the movie looks this gorgeous. I never thought Romania would be this alive. Fredrick, having directed music videos, knows how to take the shots beautifully and stylishly. The scenes were smeared with subtle color tones which made it feel like it was both warm and cold. And I said the story was only weak but it does keep things intriguing till end. Especially Charlie's ability or delusion to talk to the dead was a zany mechanic that kept the story moving.

An immense influence of music can be seen throughout the movie. Once again, Fredrick's experience with music videos comes into play making the movie's soundtrack enlivened with tracks from Moby, The XX and M83. Christophe Beck's score was also soothing to the ear.

Charlie Countryman might not be everybody's cup of tea but it was purely a sensory enrapturing experience for me. It has got comedy, action, drama and most of all romance, and it might have been more, had it got an NC-17 rating for its oral sex scene which was cut by MPAA so as to get it rated R. It might not be a worthy contender or come listed in this years best movies, but do give it a chance, have a walk in Romania with Charlie Countryman and fall in love with Gabi.

Good movie, bad painting of the city

[bogdan-dumitru · 7/10 · 11 January 2014]

The movie is good, balanced and colorful with deep emotion bathing and fast pace, makes your heart race. I really enjoyed it.

But Bucharest is NOTHING like depicted in this movie. Bucharest is just like any other modern city in Europe. I was born here and I HAVE NEVER SEEN a group of gypsies just sitting on the ground like in one or two of the scenes in this movie. I found myself wondering if they really shot some of the scenes here. It looked kind of like India. ENOUGH with the gypsies already! This city.. pardon, this country is not about the gypsies, never been, never will be. Just a few rodents. Every city has its portion of rodents. Let's not make movies with them, shall we? PS. where did they get a trabant ? :) Been a while since I saw one of that around here. (10 years or so)

Going back

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 13 August 2013]

I really liked the movie. It was shown at the International Film Festival in Berlin and the director was there. Shia was there too for the Premiere, but only the director stayed a few days longer and did a few Q&As for the movie and general movie making. While the story he is telling here, is not really that surprising and the German actor known as Schweiger, is not adding much to the equation, the two lead characters are doing the heavy lifting.

I liked the way, Shia played his character and I thought Evan Rachel Wood was great too. Of course the movie does have quite a few flaws too, but it is engaging and if you let yourself into it, you will be entertained (even if it is also predictable). A nice little thriller then

Frustratingly uneven

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 25 March 2014]

On balance I think I enjoyed "Charlie Countryman", though it sure was a bizarre film that left me confused. It's NOT a film more most audiences and is for someone willing to look at a film that comes at them from all sorts of strange directions.

The film stars Shia LaBeouf--and he's a very strange actor that is hard to categorize. Sure, he made fluff Hollywood pieces like the Transformer movies--but he also made this small film as well as the sex-filled films "Nymphomaniac 1" as well as Nymphomaniac 2" with famed Danish director Lars von Trier. There's just no telling where he'll show up next!

"Charlie Countryman" starts with the death of Charlie's estranged mother. Oddly, just after she dies, he (LaBeouf) sitting in the hall outside her hospital room--and she comes to talk to him! She's been a mostly absent mother and he asks for some advice from her and she tells him to go to Bucharest, Romania.

On the trip there, the nice guy sitting next to him dies in his sleep. But, like earlier, the dead guy then has a conversation with Charlie-- asking him to take a very silly hat to his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood). He does this but somehow has convinced himself that there MUST be more to the story than this--some other, higher purpose. So, although this daughter pushes him away and her husband terrifies Charlie because he's a psycho mobster (Mads Mikkelsen--in a very scary role). And, again and again, Charlie is nearly killed by the mobster and his goons...but he continues seeking out the girl, as he's SURE there is a purpose to their meeting and being together.

Along the way, there are a lot of violent and nude scenes--far more than in a typical R-rated film. It is not for the squeamish or prudish, that's for sure. In addition to LaBeouf and Mikkelsen stretching their comfort zones in acting, Rupert Grint plays a drug-abusing strange person...and I mean STRANGE. There are tons of things to offend you in this one, a confusing and strange plot, weird characters and Bucharest-- one of the least touristy towns in the world. I kind of liked it because the film took so many risks and because the music was great. But, there was an awful lot that just seemed to not quite belong as well. For the viewer who is looking for something different...very, very, very different.

Only worth watching for Mads Mikkelson

[akanksha_101 · 4/10 · 6 July 2020]

The movie is dumb and disappointing. Shia LeBouf did a commendable job but his character in the film was extremely annoying. There was barely any plot and the director didn't bother fleshing out any of the characters. All the characters were one dimensional. I watched this movie with zero expectations and yet I ended up disappointed. The ending sucked. The only redeeming quality of this film was Mads Mikkelson. Sadly he was given barely any screen times.

Dark Mysterious

[SCcontrol · 9/10 · 16 November 2013]

Dark Mysterious tale well cast well acted just odd enough to be diffident from the mainstream. Perfect locations were sort and used to full effect giving a realist feel to this movie. Breathing life into a film that stands head and shoulders above many a middle of the road attempt of this sort of strange super natural oddball movie. Elements of genesis are running through it with clever one liners from a unhinged gangster played to great effect.To sum up this film reminded me why i watch so many movies in a hope to fine one like this as good as this nowadays seems about one great movie in 25 or so movies watched.

Review: 'Charlie Countryman', Starring Shia LaBeouf and Evan Rachel Wood

[mae-abdulbaki · 7/10 · 12 November 2013]

Fredrik Bond is most well known for shooting car commericals, and in his feature film debut, you can most definitely tell. Charlie Countryman has fast-paced action, a romantic story fit for a dramatic music video, and fantastic performances. Sometimes, it does feel like watching a very long full-throttle car commercial in the way certain scenes are executed, but Bond does a decent job trying to balance a tale of love filled with violent repercussions.

Charlie Countryman (Shia LaBeouf) has just lost his mother and he quickly runs to take her up on her final advice to visit Bucarest, Romania. Lost and probably feeling like a fish out of water, he heads to Bucarest, not really knowing what he's going to do there, but needing to have a destination. On the plane ride there, he meets a man named Victor Ibanescu (Ion Caramitru), who's on his way back from watching the Cubs play. Because Charlie apparently has the worst luck in the world, Victor dies before landing, but not before making Charlie promise to give a souvenir hat to his daughter Gabi (Evan Rachel Wood).

Charlie fulfills his promise and ends up getting romantically entangled with the mysterious cello player who's ex-husband Nigel (Mads Mikkelsen)--though he insists they're still married--is more than he seems. Meanwhile, Charlie takes up residence at a youth hostel where he meets Luc (James Buckley) and Karl (Rupert Grint) and their crazy late- night shenanigans leads them to learn just who Nigel really is and how he runs things in his town.

The movie is most definitely a different kind of love story. Not one that hasn't been done before, but one that's bold in a way that's fresh and strangely exciting. It certainly keeps you in your seat the entire time, slow motion excitement and suspense building up to an adrenaline- fueled finale. Bond knows how to get people's adrenaline going and he certainly puts that aspect of the film ahead of a lot of other story points.

A lot of people doubt Shia LaBeouf's abilities as an actor, but he gives so much to this role and the final product is fantastic. He has some very intense scenes that range from the dramatic to the lightly humorous. From accidentally getting high on ecstasy to evading hired goons, LaBeouf's portrayal of Charlie is one of his best performances to date.

Evan Rachel Wood isn't Romanian, but if you didn't know any better, you'd think she is. We meet her character just as she's been struck by tragedy and innately know it doesn't end there. Wood's performance is pretty good, her chemistry with LaBeouf undeniable as her eyes maintain the haunted look of a woman stuck in a situation she tries to avoid.

James Buckley and Rupert Grint provide great comedic relief for the film and perfect victims, though it would have been nice to see more from their characters rather than being used mainly for laughs. Mads Mikkelsen is creepy and lethal in his role as Nigel. His presence is intense and his deadly calm is terrifying.

There are a lot of things that work in the film, one of them being the natural progression of its controlled, yet violent nature. There's no doubt that the stakes are explained and not contrived, and that feels like a breath of fresh air. Bond falters a little bit when trying to flesh out the love story and its progression. It all seems to happen too fast and might have been better if more time had passed between Gabi and Charlie's meeting and the events in the finale. There are some scenes that fall a little flat in the scheme of things, but Bond works to rectify it all so that by the time the credits roll, the film feels a little more solid than it had been earlier.

All in all, Charlie Countryman is a generally solid effort by Fredrik Bond. There are some scenes that pull you into the action and are so high energy that it's obvious what Bond's job description entailed before taking on this film. The performances are top notch from everyone, but LaBeouf most definitely stands out above the rest. Bond's feature film debut is an action-packed adrenaline rush.

If there were a movie to stand for "stupid"...

[blazaj · 2/10 · 30 December 2015]

It so happens that whenever I see a movie that resembles imbecility, I feel this massive urge to get it out of my system. So here it goes:

This is the story of a young man(Shia LaBeouf) whose mother(Melissa Leo) just passed away and while talking to her spirit, she suggests he should go to Bucharest. And so he does. Needless to say, everyone he talks to about his trip asks him if he doesn't actually mean Budapest (But it's an American movie, of course they would present Americans as people who actually know the difference between Budapest and Bucharest). On the plane he meets a man who happens to die on that plane, but wait! - his spirit also communicates with the main character asking him to deliver a present he had bought for his daughter(Evan Rachel Wood). As you can imagine (or not), the dead man is let alone there. On his seat. Dead. Until landing. When LaBeouf arrives in Bucharest a bunch of aggressive officers immediately approach him (one of them with a stun gun even) questioning his relationship with the dead man. He then meets the daughter, whose English accent is that of a drunk Russian in the Soviet era (You should know, we speak English pretty damn well around these parts). He very soon falls for her, while she seems to be in a dubious relationship with an apparently dangerous man(Mads Mikkelsen) who's constantly after her looking for a mysterious video tape (you heard me - VHS video, in case I wasn't clear) her dad had been using to keep him away from her. And so it evolves into a VERY POOR cat&mouse game (not that it was any good to begin with), with very idiotic characters and a very uninspired chain of events, peppered with, what they would like you to believe, Romanian details. And I would like to insist upon these "details":

• first we have the daughter driving a trabant, cause she's Romanian, of course she wouldn't afford a real car...or at least one they still made after 1991...

• then we have gypsies pushing the trabant, cause it's not a real trabant if it doesn't have engine problems. And it's not Romania without the gypsies. Cause we invented them and then programmed them to invade all of you.

• we have the taxi driver who takes more money than he's supposed to - probably a gypsy too.

• we have the ambulance drivers smoking hash and acting like total teenage scum WHILE driving the ambulance (I mean hell, we're well aware of the shortcomings of our medical system, but putting two potheads in charge of an ambulance - not to mention a very old model - is just offensive).

• there's also the hipster hostel, a dump where everyone's on ecstasy. (So that's what they did to flower power, made an essence and fixed it in a hostel...in Romania...).

• then we have a hit-and-run. But by this time, nothing comes out as a surprise anymore.

And, of course, in the end we have Melissa Leo saying she actually meant Budapest, not Bucharest, but that she always mixed them up. Don't worry, lady, ignorance is tolerated when you're dead. But not when you're alive and make such mediocrity some call a movie.

Ignore the critics

[arriva · 8/10 · 16 November 2013]

It seems like people have recently become quite callous because otherwise I couldn't understand why this excellent romantic semi-comedy/semi-drama/semi-crime story with excellent likable characters and a lot of love couldn't be highly appreciated.

It's not like this movies is without its flaws, for instance sometimes it dragged on and some parts of it could have been easily cut out without affecting the story in any way.

What you are about to see is a crazy love story involuntarily intertwined with the criminal world. It's not about being a hero and conquering the love of your life when you are lost, it's just about following the emotions which bring you to life.

I'd recommend this movie to anyone who thinks of himself as a romantic person, and I'd definitely recommend it to all ladies.

'Maybe you have some kind of fantasy about helping a woman n a faraway land.'

[gradyharp · 7/10 · 5 January 2014]

Director Fredrik Bond and writer Matt Drake are new to the game of cinema and it shows – in ways both good and not so good. The original title of this little adventure in Bucharest was THE NECESSARY DEATH OF CHARLIE COUNTRYMAN: they should have stuck with that.

Charlie (Shi LaBeouf) is a scruffy sad e-eyed lad who at his mother's (Melissa Leo) deathbed with her current paramour Bill (Vincent D'Onofrio – in only a few minutes of inconsequential screen time): mother dies, but appears in a vision extracting a promise for Charlie to go to Bucharest to mend his grief. Charlie hops on a plane, sits next to an old Romanian Victor (Ion Caramitru) with whom he bonds before Victor dies in flight: another vision – Victor asks Charlie to deliver a silly hat to his daughter Gabi (Evan Rachel Wood) in Bucharest. Once Charlie is in Bucharest, having survived airport investigation, he gets conflicting data from a taxi driver (Gabriel Spahiu) and is delivered to a youth hostel where he shares a room with tow losers – Karl (Rupert Grint) and Luc (James Buckley) – who introduce him to Ecstasy. Charlie is already on the bad side of the crime world for wanting to deliver Victor's gift to Gabi and is at the mercy of Nigel (Mads Mikkelsen) and Darko (Til Schweiger) who are covering up some criminal problem. Charlie meets Gabi, a cellist with the Bucharest Opera who happens to be married to Nigel, and of course he falls in love beginning an endless chase sequence by the mob that involves Gabi, Nigel, Darko and assorted thugs. The ending is in the original title….maybe….

A great movie this is not, but its twisted plot, incorporation of visions from the dead, and brisk action captured in a very strange but exciting light by cinematographer Roman Vasyanov and a strange atmospheric musical score by Christophe Beck keep the movie intriguing. And it is tough to cast Mads Mikkelsen, Til Schweiger, Melissa Leo, and yes, Shia LaBeouf and Evan Rachel Wood and not expect to see some moments of excellent acting. As an evening's diversion, given the fact that it is the initial outing by both director and writer, it is worth watching.

Really? You couldn't have done your homework?

[pisica00 · 2/10 · 11 April 2014]

As I found out along the way, the only movies which can depict a country are the ones made in that country, but the Americans could have done their homework... at least. We, Romanians, have better English accents and know English better than some of the English speakers, so EPIC FAIL on that.

Secondly Bucharest is an interesting place, a kind of love and hate, organic city and the movie caught none of that. EPIC FAIL no.2.

The role of a Romanian should be played by a Romanian. I like Rachel Wood, but she seriously didn't study any of our culture. E.F.3.

Overall the movie didn't create any kind of atmosphere for me, disregarding the rest of the points above. The acting was not very good and the story lacks continuity and it's not even close to believable.

Good luck on watching yet another movie....

Truly beautiful to the eye!

[tgarciadiez · 7/10 · 24 February 2014]

Wow! Where to start from? In my opinion this movie was extraordinary and probably one of the best films I have seen in this year of 2013. It's not the usual Hollywood film and it tackles a whole new side! The film is full of craziness, twists and turns. I found myself incredibly amused somewhat hypnotized with the beautiful city that is shown throughout the movie. Everything from the places to the soundtracks are exuberant giving us a taste of the European country known as Romania. The acting realized by LaBeouf and Wood is tremendous and extremely real. To my taste this is by far one of Shia's best films and its great to see how he can come all the way from playing a role in "Transformers" to a part which requires and seeks a totally different type of person. Without a doubt I recommend that you give yourself the pleasure of enjoying this thrill ride!

A story of love and self discovery

[monstermayhem32 · 7/10 · 5 September 2014]

I would have to say what makes the film stand out for me is the films use of music and imagery which make it stand out for me. Shia labeouf plays the films title character Charlie countryman whose mother has died and her ghost encourages her son to find himself and love in budacrest. While on the plane, Charlie encounters a man named victor who asks him to deliver a gift for his daughter. Sadly he dies and ends up meeting Gabi who he falls in love with almost like love at first sight. Little does he know that Gabi ex husband nick is a dangerous sociopath. However despite this obstacle Charlie and Gabi are determined to be together regardless of her circumstances,

Let's imagine...

[anniemarshallster · 7/10 · 7 September 2014]

... that this film was made in the late sixties,starring Woody Allen as a nebbish doofus who mistakenly gets on a plane for Bucharest - what fun it would be watching him try to do a Dizzy Gillespie face when challenged by Nigel.

And imagine this film with a local villain guy who isn't called NIGEL - that makes sense. Every time I hear the name I keep anticipating some English escapee (Molesworth perhaps?)from a boarding school. No disrespect Mads but couldn't you have made them change his name?

Alternatively imagine the fun if this had been made in French in the seventies with some spaced out French actors and Eddie Constantine playing the heavy - Godardian, hey!

Okay, now let's look at the hand we were dealt. The director knows how to film action and he sure keeps the pace up. The Romanian actors are fun. The script has a lovely poetic surreal sensibility (but doesn't need the set up at the beginning - we can sense Charlie is a nutcase right from the off). Bucharest looks fabulously grungy and the local musos are extraordinary - I wanted more of them. The relationship between Gabi and Nigel has been based on romantic assumptions (his) that her playing has saved his life - I can understand why he clings to her regardless of her wishes so let's enjoy more of their backstory meaning more of Mads of course.

What I can't understand is why, having managed to escape Nigel's lethal clutches, Gabi wants to fall into the arms of Shia the unwashed even if he is magically the ONE. He's not funny, nor is he charming, nor is he magical in any sense. Bad casting that one.

So I don't buy it although I enjoyed the ride.

a bit obscure but brilliant in style. (Spoiler!)

[theLovelyRing · 5/10 · 12 September 2014]

It's a comedy with a clear theme which is about love and romance, though the content is not very concrete, but if you can view it in a way which is kind of like surrealism, you'll find it totally worthwhile to watch. Actually, we are all like Charlie, when something bad happens, we try to escape from it, sometimes we buy drinks to numb our brains, sometimes we run away from the life that we are familiar with, we travel abroad, far, far away to experience a different world and life-style. I think people do that mostly because when we travel abroad we can find that compare to the rest of the world, how small individuals,as we are, in the whole wild world are. And when we meet new people from different culture with different stories, we find that none of our problem and sorrow is alone in the world, we can somehow relate to other people. Anyway, it's a good film made in a artistic style, abstract in content but brilliantly delivered its message about the theme, lost and love. Plus, with LaBeouf and Mikkelsen in the film, why not?

Live action graphic novel

[cekadah · 10/10 · 2 January 2014]

At the end of this movie my reaction was - 'WTF ! !' - I had no idea what to make of this story. It was just stupid ... I was as lost at what to make of it as Charlie was in seeking love and purpose. But the movie had one thing very important going for it, it kept my attention and I wanted to know just what was the fate of Charlie Countryman.

Then it occurred to me that this movie is just like a graphic novel ! The scenes, the pace of the story, the action, the dialog, the exaggerated faces of the central characters, Gabi's overly done makeup, Charlie's perpetual innocent expression and unending energy, the spooky ugliness of Nigel, the demon like Darko and the anger displayed by Victor. All these characterizations can be found in action packed romantic graphic novels. Once I considered the movie in this context, suddenly everything made sense and I'm now crazy for this flick.

I have no idea if this was Fredrik Bond's intention - but it works for me! It's beautifully photographed, loaded with wonderful characters, dialog is fantastic, and every scene is its' own art. It's a must see for cinema fans!

A mild cocktail of romance, comedy, and drama.

[venaxis · 7/10 · 26 February 2014]

This film caught my attention to its well-done musical score from beginning to end. The film combines romance, comedy, crime, and drama altogether stunningly. The choice of Mads Mikkelsen as the villain character was great, same thing goes to the other secondary actors in their roles, but I can't say the same thing about Shia LaBeouf's performance as the lead character, Charlie Countryman. I felt as if he lacked a certain amount of character depth in his role, as if he was playing one of the characters from his other movies. For some reason it reminded me of Bee Vang's performance as Thao in Gran Torino. Even though Shia's role was a big downer for me, I enjoyed watching this film nonetheless. It's worth watching if you like romantic dramas with a tint of comedy.

Disheveled Shia and Evan's accent

[SnoopyStyle · 4/10 · 17 December 2013]

Charlie Countryman (Shia LaBeouf) is an aimless young man. His mother (Melissa Leo) dies and her spirit tells him to go to Bucharest to live his life. On the plane there, an old man next to him dies. He meets the old man's beautiful daughter Gabi (Evan Rachel Wood). He falls for her despite her dark jealous violent husband Nigel (Mads Mikkelsen).

Shia looks like a drugged out homeless guy. I don't get it, but some find it sexy. I wish he would clean up a bit. Then there is Evan Rachel Wood's eastern European accent. It is extremely distracting. I rather have a Romanian actress who speaks broken English. Luckily there is Mads. I love his menacing demeanor. He is scary just by looking at you.

The movie depends a lot on Shia and Evan. I didn't like either of them in this. Between Shia's disheveled look and Evan's annoying accent, I couldn't get into this pairing. And the stuff with the ruffians isn't that interesting. The only funny joke is told by the ambulance driver in Romanian. It's a mess of unlikeable characters that I didn't care much about.

Beautiful Film. The critics are dead wrong about this one.

[AlukardsCastle · 10/10 · 12 May 2014]

(The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman)

*Plot Synopsis* (minor spoilers) Charlie Countryman has witnessed his mothers death and it is apparent that he is not comfortable being around death. I mean who is? He also seems to have a gift which enables him to communicate to the dead just after they have died. This supernatural aspect plays a small and big role in the film at the same time. Well his mothers "ghost" has requested for him to go to Bucharest, Romania for no real reason. So he does. On the airplane ride there, he sits next to Victor, who he befriends quickly. Suddenly and awkwardly, Victor dies in his sleep during the ride. His "ghost", then requests him to give a gift to his daughter. This is when Charlie meets the beautiful Gabi. From there on, Charlie will experience an adventure of emotions and the dangerous consequences of his decisions, which in the end, ultimately makes him feel love.

I'm not saying the critics are always right or always wrong. Sometimes the critics love a movie and the public hates it. Sometimes they hate a movie and the public hates it. Sometimes they love a movie and the public loves it. Well this is one of those rare cases where the critics hate the movie, but the public mostly adores it. I mean, come on. This movie is much better than the 27% it has on Rotten Tomatoes. I am so surprised at the negativity this movie is getting from the press.

This was honestly one of the most interesting and beautiful films I have experienced. The acting from Shia Lebouf as a confused lost young man is topnotch. He gives his best performance to date. Sadly the Oscars are out of the question apparently. A lot of the acting comes from his facial expressions of sadness and sorrow. The supporting cast also do a great job. Evan Rachel Wood plays the hurt and mysterious Gabi perfectly as well. The best of the supporting cast has to be given to Mads Mikkelsen who plays the dangerous and smooth crazy ex of Gabi, Nigel. Every scene he is in is ominous. He is almost an evil James Bond type of character in this film. Oh, and Rupert Grint AKA Ronald Weasley also has a humorous minor role as well.

The cinematography is stunning. Every scene, every single shot can be paused and screen-shot and hung on a wall as a piece of art. The look of this film is truly what you would expect a living painting to look like. It's as if someone took a camera and jumped inside a piece of art at a Museum. Like another reviewer said, the movie feels like a live action Graphic Novel at times. The setting of Bucharest really plays a huge role as the backdrop to most of the film. It is a really beautiful city. I'd compare the feeling of it to the feeling of Bruges in "In Bruges".

The soundtrack sets the tone well. I almost cried several times during the film thanks to the musical score or song choices combined with the directing and brilliant acting. Take note that I barely ever cry ever. That's how good this movie worked. I must also point out that one of my favorite bands M83 has a song featured in the final scene perfectly!

Lastly, this film is hard to categorize. At times it is a drama. Then in an instant it has small comedic elements. Then suddenly it becomes a action film. Take all of these and combine them and set the movie in a beautiful city like Bucharest, and you have a great film. Of course, there are some plot holes, but it never gets to the point of confusion. At no point in the film did I feel like I missed something. I have no idea what these critics watched, but it definitely wasn't the same movie I just watched. What I saw was an A list film that deserves great praise. I still cannot get over how beautiful the movie looked. Even if you don't love the story, you cannot deny how gorgeous each scene is without any use of CGI. True eye candy. If you need something interesting and different to watch, then I highly recommend this movie as a rental, purchase, or even a Netflix choice. I would watch it again the next chance I get.

Budapest or Bucharest? What's a young man to do?

[TxMike · 18 July 2014]

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!

A movie that deserves to be seen by a bigger audience then it will get. A little too Hollywood but I really liked it.

[cosmo_tiger · 7/10 · 9 December 2013]

"Welcome to limbo Charlie. Don't get too comfortable it's not your final destination." After making a promise to his dead mother Charlie (LaBeouf) packs up and movies to Bulgaria. While on the plane over he talks to a man who tells him all about his daughter and makes him promise to tell her something. When Charlie finds her she isn't too receptive to him or what he said. Little by little she begins to loosen up but her past catches up with both of them. I have to admit, just based off the poster alone I expected this to be a little slow moving and boring. You know the saying you can't judge a book by it's cover...that can also be added to posters. I'm not sure what I was expecting but this was much better then I was thinking it would be. This is another movie though that is hard to say too much a bout without giving something away but this is a movie that deserves to be seen by a bigger audience then it will get. The cast and acting are good but it ended up being a little too Hollywood then it should have been. When you watch it you will know what I mean. That is by no means not a reason to watch it though. Overall, a surprise sleeper that deserves to be seen. I give it a B+.

This movie is the worst representation of Romanian culture I've ever seen.

[vascanj · 1/10 · 3 July 2014]

This. movie. is. horrible.

Shia's performance was great (and the score was pretty cool-props to Beck and Deadmono), but the 'hollywood-esque' portrayal of Romanian culture is so far away from the truth it makes me barf. Romania is not just filled with gangs, drugs, and gypsies. In fact, it's everything BUT that. Romania is a country that has a rich history and a beautiful culture steeped in old traditions. It isn't some gang banging country...and it sure as hell isn't this 'openly James-Bond-esque' corrupt. It is beautiful. The people behind this film made it out to be some kind of horrible hell-hole. And it's not.

Oh, and another thing that makes this movie so bad: the only Romanian guy in this whole movie dies within the 1st 2 minutes, and the 'Romanian Beauty' lead ISN'T EVEN FREAKING ROMANIAN.

It's not like they could've, oh I don't know, HIRED A ROMANIAN ACTRESS TO PLAY A ROMANIAN? No...that'd be too hard wouldn't it? It's not like Romania is filled with competent people who can act just as well as any American or Brit. SERIOUSLY PEOPLE???

I sincerely wish Romania got a better representation in Hollywood...but it's because of people like these that everybody has a negative connotation to it. What a shame...the country is so beautiful.

Oh and also, P.S., Evan Rachel Wood should've gotten a hand double for the cello. I know her playing was only in one scene but it was noticeable that she didn't know how to play. At all.

love

[judyibel · 7 July 2016]

I've seen this film about 2/3 times already and I love it! - I think I may even watch it again now! Both the characters and the story itself is just fantastic! I definitely have to say that the action scene in this in the subway is one of my favourite scenes in the movie due to the pace, score and acting. Although a romance and drama the film does have its comedic moments. Also don't forget the amazing soundtracks! Shia LaBeoufs acting is great and suits his character in the film. Personally I'm a big fan of his so this may sway my opinion of the film to a 10/10. Overall I'd give the film a 10/10 for its theme, story, acting, score, cinematography and lighting. The pinky lighting at the end was very effective and pretty for sure!