“Charlie Countryman”

By Emily Theytaz 11-12-13

Shia LaBeouf in Charlie Countryman.
Photo Courtesy of Millennium Entertainment.

Charlie Countryman is a flawed film saved by acting, editing and music.

First time director Frederik Bond tells the story of Charlie (Shia LaBeouf). He’s an American who finds himself falling in love with a Romanian girl (Evan Rachel Wood) in Bucharest. She’s married to a crime boss (Mads Mikkelsen). Charlie then endures a physical and mental hell on earth trying to woo the girl he’s fallen for while attempting to protect her from her violent husband. The plot is wooden and predictable though and there’s no way this good-looking movie can get around that.

Music and high-end imagery move the film along. They include cinematic drug montages, the occasional LaBeouf/Wood chemistry, and Rupert Grint and James Buckley’s comic relief moments. The film mostly fails to fit into the genre’s it’s been categorized as. It is not a comedy, action or romance film. It is filled with a lot of blood, pills, violence, sex, profanities, a shirtless Shia LaBeouf, and Evan Rachel Wood attempting a Romanian accent. The plot soon falls flat and becomes less and less entertaining as time goes on.

The acting performances are solid here. Mikkelsen becomes the terrifying thug Nigel and Rupert Grint is a comedic surprise. LaBeouf’s performance throughout the movie is stunning. He is not Shia LaBeouf attempting to be a character. He feels like a pill addicted, romantic in every way.

Overall the music, montages and the acting manage to keep the film somewhat afloat but the plot failure causes the movie to becomes as lost as Charlie was in Bucharest.