Review of Charlie Countryman (2013) by Nick O — 28 Nov 2013

Well-intended and evidently passionate, but ultimately vapid and meaningless. I don't hate "Charlie Countryman" by any stretch, especially when there's such rich potential for a great movie here; it's just unfortunate that while the magic-surrealism of the storytelling is OCCASIONALLY forgivable as an incredibly helpful narrative device, when that gimmick flops, it really flops hard. (That ending, buddy, goddamn.) It's remarkably shot, scored and directed, but still, that only takes a vision so half-realized so far. Something to be said in a movie that wears its overt symbolism, coy hallucinations and most importantly heart all over its sun-dappled surface, but not much.

I'll say this: maybe now that "Transformers" is over (at least for him anyway), with this and next year's "Nymphomaniac" in the can Shia LaBeouf has finally found greater purpose exploring his strengths as an actor without the unwelcome heat of the spotlight. Ironically, Charlie seems to be the only part of "Charlie" that rings somewhat elusive instead of just stoned. (41/100).