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) |
When his late mother appears in a vision and tells him to go to Bucharest, Charlie immediately boards a plane across the Atlantic. But when he meets a fellow passenger, Charlie finds himself with another promise to fulfil. Charlie does so - and falls head over heels in love with Gabi, a beautiful musician. However, a vicious gangster has already laid claim to Gabi, and has no intention of letting her go. Determined to protect her, Charlie enters into the hallucinatory, Romanian underworld filled with violence and, strangely enough, love. Features an all-star cast including Shia LaBeouf, Evan Rachel Wood, Mads Mikkelsen, and Rupert Grint.
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.