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Charlie (Shia Lebeouf) and Gabi (Evan Rachel Wood) in The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman. |
By John Esther
Drugged and melancholic, Charlie Countryman (Shia LeBeouf), receives advice from his recently departed mother (Melissa Leo) that he should leave Chicago and go and visit Bucharest (she meant Budapest).
Upon arrival in Romania's capital, Charlie is thrust into a romantic adventure in a foreign land. Charlie meets the love of his life, Gabi (Evan Rachel Wood). In mourning, the cellist in the local symphony happens to be fluent in English, and would be perfect, except her estranged husband, Nigel (Mads Mikkelsen), a ruthless mobster, still wants her. Nigel also wants a highly incriminating tape floating around.
Directed by Frederik Bond, written by Matt Drake, narrated by John Hurt and consisting of a score composed by Moby, The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman has its moments, but essentially it is a sheepishly Hollywood film in indie clothing.
The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman builds itself up as some edgy, gritty love story where our hero, we are told, will die. Charlie keeps getting pummelled, chased by both cops and mobsters, before being shot at point blank range yet love conquers all. If Charlie had actually died for love that would have been made the film slightly subversive, but that is not, necessarily, the case. In fact, the film sets itself for a sequel as one very bad villain remains alive. LeBeouf in another franchise?
Directed by Frederik Bond, written by Matt Drake, narrated by John Hurt and consisting of a score composed by Moby, The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman has its moments, but essentially it is a sheepishly Hollywood film in indie clothing.
The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman builds itself up as some edgy, gritty love story where our hero, we are told, will die. Charlie keeps getting pummelled, chased by both cops and mobsters, before being shot at point blank range yet love conquers all. If Charlie had actually died for love that would have been made the film slightly subversive, but that is not, necessarily, the case. In fact, the film sets itself for a sequel as one very bad villain remains alive. LeBeouf in another franchise?
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