Much of the buzz attributed to Charlie Countryman comes from the entertainment news headline ‘Shia LaBeouf drops acid for movie role.’ LaBeouf, in an interview, explained his reasons for doing so as “There’s a way to do an acid trip like Harold and Kumar and there’s a way to be on acid. What I know of acting, Sean Penn actually strapped up to that electric chair in Dead Man Walking. These are the guys that I look up to.”

Charlie Countryman plays out like a stylish, psychedelic adult fairy tale and has successfully blended a few genres to create a beautiful surrealist action flick.

The film begins with a depressive and lost young man, Charlie Countryman (Shia LaBeouf) as he loses his mother, Katie (Melissa Leo). The mystical nature of the film begins immediately, as Charlie speaks with his mother’s ghost and is mysteriously told to go to Bucharest. From here, he makes a drug addled, almost dream-like pilgrimage through Romania and becomes enamored with a young woman named Gabi (Evan Rachel Wood). Soon, Gabi’s ex-husband, Nigel (Mads Mikkelsen), finds out Charlie’s intention to steal his woman and spends the rest of the film partnering up with his crime cronies to try and kill Charlie.

Charlie Countryman is not perfect, but this film is stylish beyond words in all aspects including cinematography, editing and soundtrack choices, all the way down to LaBeouf’s wardrobe.

This film, at times, almost calls to mind Denis Johnson’s collection of short stories entitled Jesus’ Son, in that it strives to create a universe is which drug use, sex and violence make up a sort of holy path to enlightenment. There is also the blatant underlining of death in both of these works, as they relate to these “holy” factors, especially in Charlie Countryman.

Charlie Countryman will be bashed for its unlikely coincidences, plot issues and probably most of all, style over substance, but in my mind, the film should be applauded simply for its aesthetic and overall tone. Many of the chase scenes are in slow motion, backed by gorgeous, hypnotic tunes and also, at times, fast paced electronic music. In these aspects, the film is almost reminiscent of a music video. In fact, some of the shots in the film look like they could have been pulled from the Sigur Ros short film he was a part of, which is another hip and rather experimental work on his resume. Soon to come is Lars Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, which may just finally pull Labeouf out of his ‘transformers kid’ phase once and for all.

Charlie Countryman is not an action film where the hero is blessed with extravagant victories. In fact, for most of the film, Charlie is either running or being beaten to death. He’s a fool who won’t take no for an answer, even when a gun is hot in his throat or a plastic bag is tightly pulled over his face nearly suffocating him. He is unafraid to die and almost seems like an angel wandering around a Romanian hell.

Charlie Countryman is not perfect, but this film is stylish beyond words in all aspects including cinematography, editing and soundtrack choices, all the way down to LaBeouf’s wardrobe. I’ll take this over a traditional action flick any day of the week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqnstjzPtfo