''Charlie Countryman'' (originally titled ''The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman'' as well as ''Kill Charlie Countryman'') is a 2013
romantic drama film
Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...
directed by Fredrik Bond in his
directorial debut
This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...
, written by Matt Drake, and starring
Shia LaBeouf,
Evan Rachel Wood
Evan Rachel Wood (born September 7, 1987) is an American actress and activist. She is the recipient of a Critics' Choice Television Award as well as three Primetime Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations for her work i ...
and
Mads Mikkelsen
Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen, (; born 22 November 1965) is a Danish actor. Originally a gymnast and dancer, he rose to fame in Denmark as an actor for his roles such as Tonny in the first two films of the ''Pusher'' film trilogy (1996, 2004), D ...
.
The film premiered on January 21, 2013 at the
2013 Sundance Film Festival
The 2013 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 17, 2013, until January 27, 2013, in Park City, Utah, United States, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah, Ogden, Utah, and Sundance, Utah.
The festival had 1,830 volunteers.
Films
A r ...
and was screened in competition at the
63rd Berlin International Film Festival.
The film was released November 15, 2013 in the United States was released on October 31, 2014 in the United Kingdom.
Plot
In
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
, Charlie Countryman grieves as his dying mother is taken off
life support
Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic ...
. Her spirit appears to him, urging him to go to
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...
, and Charlie does so. He bonds with Victor, the
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
n man sitting next to him on the plane, who is returning home after seeing a
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...
game. During the flight, Victor dies, and his spirit asks Charlie to deliver a gift and a final message to his daughter.
At the airport, Charlie is
tased and questioned by security after trying to retrieve Victor’s gift. He is instantly smitten with Victor's daughter, Gabi, and consoles her before parting ways. Taking a taxi into the city, he notices Gabi in her car and offers to drive her. They nearly collide with the ambulance transporting her father’s body, which crashes. Gabi accompanies the body in another ambulance, leaving her car with Charlie, who finds a revolver in her purse with an inscription from “Nigel”.
He drives to the
Romanian Athenaeum
The Romanian Athenaeum ( ro, Ateneul Român) is a concert hall in the center of Bucharest, Romania, and a landmark of the Romanian capital city. Opened in 1888, the ornate, domed, circular building is the city's most prestigious concert hall and ...
where Gabi performs as a cellist, and she calls him with instructions to deliver her instrument to the conductor, Bela. Charlie waits while Gabi performs with the pit orchestra, and they are confronted by her estranged husband, Nigel. Staying at a
hostel
A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or share ...
, Charlie parties with his roommates Karl and Luc after they dose him with
ecstasy, and is menaced by Nigel in the bathroom. Spotting Gabi, Charlie insists on following her and they spend the night out, sharing memories of their parents, and she promises him a kiss if he can find her the next day.
After Karl takes an overdose of
Viagra
Sildenafil, sold under the brand name Viagra, among others, is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is unclear if it is effective for treating sexual dysfunction in women. It is taken by ...
, he and Luc bring Charlie to a strip club. They receive a bill for 9,900
Romanian leu
The Romanian leu (, plural lei ; ISO code: RON; numeric code: 946) is the currency of Romania. It is subdivided into 100 (, singular: ), a word that means "money" in Romanian.
Etymology
The name of the currency means "lion", and is derive ...
($) and are threatened by the manager, Darko, who notices that Charlie recognizes pictures of Nigel and Gabi on his wall. Demanding to know Nigel’s whereabouts, Darko lets them go. Charlie waits for Gabi at the Athenaeum, and Bela takes him to Gabi’s home, where a memorial is being held for Victor. Gabi and Charlie share the kiss she promised him, and he tells her about meeting Darko. Nigel barges in and threatens Charlie, but Gabi forces him to leave at gunpoint. Once they are alone, she explains to Charlie how she met Nigel, realizing he was a violent criminal after they married, and that her father forced Nigel to leave Bucharest with the threat of an incriminating videotape that Darko wants to obtain. Charlie confesses he is in love with her, and they have sex.
Waking up alone, Charlie finds a tape in Victor’s collection labeled “Cubs Win World Series - 1995”, revealed to be security footage of Nigel and Darko murdering a group of people. A shocked Charlie finds Gabi at a café with Nigel and declares to them that he watched the tape. Nigel nearly kills him before the police arrive, escaping while Charlie is taken into custody. Bela arranges to have Charlie sent to
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
, bluntly stating that Gabi doesn't want to see him. Charlie is dropped off at the hostel to collect his belongings, but the owner warns him that men are waiting for him. Pursued by Darko’s henchmen, Charlie escapes to Gabi’s house only to find the tape missing. He is confronted by Darko, who has kidnapped and interrogated Karl and Luc. Gabi calls Darko to arrange a meeting, and he knocks Charlie unconscious.
Gabi finds Charlie outside the Athenaeum and tells him that he will never see her again. Having taken the tape, she prepares to leave with Nigel to meet Darko. Encouraged by another vision of his mother, Charlie tries to stop Nigel but is knocked out again. He is taken to the docks and hung by his ankle above the water, while Darko burns the tape. Nigel forces Gabi to shoot Charlie, but she spares him as the police arrive. Darko and his men flee, dropping Charlie into the water, while Nigel realizes Gabi loves Charlie and commits
suicide by cop
Suicide by cop or suicide by police is a suicide method in which a suicidal individual deliberately behaves in a threatening manner, with intent to provoke a lethal response from a public safety or law enforcement officer.
Overview
There are ...
. Charlie emerges from the water alive and reunites with Gabi.
Cast
*
Shia LaBeouf as Charlie Countryman
*
Evan Rachel Wood
Evan Rachel Wood (born September 7, 1987) is an American actress and activist. She is the recipient of a Critics' Choice Television Award as well as three Primetime Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations for her work i ...
as Gabriella "Gabi" Ibanescu
*
Mads Mikkelsen
Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen, (; born 22 November 1965) is a Danish actor. Originally a gymnast and dancer, he rose to fame in Denmark as an actor for his roles such as Tonny in the first two films of the ''Pusher'' film trilogy (1996, 2004), D ...
as Nigel
*
Til Schweiger
Tilman Valentin Schweiger (; born 19 December 1963) is a German actor, voice actor and filmmaker. He runs his own production company, Barefoot Films, in Berlin.
Early life
Schweiger was born in Freiburg, West Germany, to two teachers. He grew ...
as Darko
*
Rupert Grint as Karl
*
James Buckley as Luc
*
Ion Caramitru as Victor Ibanescu
*
Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
His roles include Private Leonar ...
as Bill
*
Melissa Leo as Kate Countryman
*Andrei Finti as Bela
*Gabriel Spahiu as Taxi Driver
*
Aubrey Plaza
Aubrey Christina Plaza (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She began her career performing improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. She starred as April Ludgate on the NBC sitcom ''Pa ...
as Ashley
*
Vanessa Kirby as Felicity
*Lia Sinchevici as Waitress
*Ian Fisher
John Hurt was a brief narrator for the film's original version released at Sundance, but his narration was edited out and is included on its Blu-ray release as an extra.
Production
In early development, LaBeouf dropped out of the project and the title role was briefly given to
Zac Efron
Zachary David Alexander Efron (; born October 18, 1987) is an American actor. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s and rose to prominence in the late 2000s for his leading role as Troy Bolton in the ''High School Musical'' trilo ...
before LaBeouf returned to the project in August 2010. Dante Ariola was originally attached as director but left before filming began.
Filming took place between May and June 2012 and filmed on location in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
.
LaBeouf reportedly tripped on
acid
In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a se ...
while filming acid scenes. According to LaBeouf, he had to trip on the acid to really get into the head of his character and to emulate some of his acting heroes. "There's a way to do an acid trip like ''
Harold & Kumar'' and there's a way to be on acid. What I know of acting,
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008).
Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
actually strapped up to that
electric chair
An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...
in ''
Dead Man Walking''. These are the guys that I look up to."
Release
Wood criticised the American censors for insisting that a scene be cut in which her character receives oral sex from LaBeouf, while taking no issue with the many violent scenes:
Music
The official soundtrack album was released digitally on Feb 11, 2014, by Psychedelic Records. The soundtrack album featured 14 songs of score music composed by
Christophe Beck and Deadmono.
Reception
''Charlie Countryman'' received negative reviews from critics.
Review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
reports a 27% approval rating, based on 66 reviews with an average rating of 3.93/10; the site's consensus reads: "Shia LaBeouf clearly relishes his role in ''Charlie Countryman'', but his efforts can't salvage the movie's shallow script and overstuffed direction."
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which assigns a normalized score, rated it 31/100 based on 20 reviews.
John Anderson of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' called it "a profoundly unnecessary film" with "strained attempts at
magic realism". Justin Lowe of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...
'' describe it as "an atmospheric feature that sets out to tackle big questions of love and destiny."
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic.
Biography
Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote, "this catastrophe of a movie zigzags drunkenly between action-adventure and
surreal comedy with some magical realism slopped over it like ketchup." Robert Abele of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' wrote, "Pulpy dross of surpassing dumbness, ''Charlie Countryman'' takes the blender approach to mixing dark adventure, doofus comedy and pie-eyed romance, but forgets to put the lid on when pulsed." Damon Wise of ''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' gave a positive review, stating "Bond's use of music is excellent and his vision of eastern Europe both hellish and magical."
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlie Countryman
2013 films
2013 romantic comedy-drama films
2010s romantic thriller films
American romantic comedy-drama films
American comedy thriller films
American romantic comedy films
Romanian comedy-drama films
Romanian comedy thriller films
English-language Romanian films
2010s Romanian-language films
Films scored by Christophe Beck
Films set in Bucharest
Films shot in Bucharest
Films shot in Chicago
Films shot in Romania
American independent films
Magic realism films
Romanian independent films
2013 directorial debut films
2013 comedy films
2013 drama films
2010s English-language films
2013 multilingual films
American multilingual films
Romanian multilingual films
2010s American films