Charlie Countryman (2013)

While travelling abroad, a guy falls for a Romanian beauty whose unreachable heart has its origins in her violent, charismatic ex.

Director:

Fredrik Bond

Writer:

Matt Drake

Stars:

Shia LaBeouf, Evan Rachel Wood, Mads Mikkelsen

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shia LaBeouf	...	Charlie Countryman
Evan Rachel Wood	...	Gabi Ibanescu
Mads Mikkelsen	...	Nigel
Til Schweiger	...	Darko
Rupert Grint	...	Karl
James Buckley	...	Luc
Ion Caramitru	...	Victor Ibanescu
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Bill
Melissa Leo	...	Kate
Andrei Finti	...	Bela
Aubrey Plaza	...	Ashley
Lachlan Nieboer	...	Ted
Vanessa Kirby	...	Felicity
Gabriel Spahiu	...	Taxi Driver
Bogdan Farkas	...	Hostel Clerk (as Bodgan Farcas)

Storyline

While travelling abroad, a guy falls for a Romanian beauty whose unreachable heart has its origins in her violent, charismatic ex.

---

Plot Keywords:

sitting next to a dead body on an airplane | erection | male name in title | male objectification | pubic hair | 

---

Taglines:

The only way to save the one you love, is to die

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some brutal violence, language throughout, sexuality/nudity, and drug use.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA Romania

Language:

English Romanian

Release Date:

13 September 2013 (Norway)

Also Known As:

Charlie Countryman

Filming Locations:

Bucharest, Romania

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,973, 17 November 2013

Gross USA:

$11,650

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$443,990

Company Credits

Production Co:

MediaPro Pictures, Media Pro, Bona Fide Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was critically panned at its Sundance world premiere. After heavy edits, its new cut became a cult classic with critics and fans of Shia LaBeouf.

---

Goofs

When Charlie Countryman is running back to his hostel after Gabi Ibanescu tells him she'll kiss him if he finds her tomorrow, Charlie runs without his shoes and socks on after he removed them to show Gabi a ballet move. But when he is hit by the car he has his shoes and socks back on.

---

Quotes

Victor Ibanescu: It is problems which make us who we are, which give us character.

---

Connections

References The Sixth Sense (1999)

---

Soundtracks

After (iamamiwhoami Remix)
Written by Richard Hall
Performed by Moby
Courtesy of Mute Records Ltd.
By Arrangement with Bank Robber Music

User Reviews

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

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.