Dir: Fredrik Bond
Year: 2014
Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Evan Rachel Wood, Mads Mikkelsen, Til Schweiger, Rupert Grint, James Buckley
Genre: Crime/Romance/Drama/Comedy/Thriller
Cert: 18
Shia LeBeouf plays Charlie Countryman, a guy who seems to have just entered adult-hood (By mentality more so than age) and is what can be described as a complete hippy. He just watched his mother pass away in hospital and is immediately engaged in a conversation with her spirit. She tells him to fuck off to Bucharest and enjoy his life to the fullest. On his flight over he befriends a man from Romania who tells him about the country and his young daughter. They get pissed together on the flight and when the man falls asleep, he doesn't wake up, unfortunately he passes away too, but his spirit then gives Charlie a message for his daughter, which he decides to carry out. So far, I can tell you're rolling your eyes at how pretentious and stupid this sounds, but trust me, it ain't what you think!
He arrives in Romania and is united with the man's daughter, Gabi, played by Evan Rachel Wood. He is immediately love-struck and would do anything to be with her, she's still grieving so it won't be easy, especially considering her psychotic ex-husband Nigel, played by Mads Mikkelsen, still harbors a lunatic obsession with her and wont let ANYONE get in his way to get her back. He befriends two LSD-ridden English party animals, Karl and Luc played by Rupert Grint and James Buckley (Branching out from The Inbetweeners). These get into a spot of trouble at a strip club run by Darko, played by Til Schweiger. He just so happens to be good pals with Nigel and are both now out for Charlie's blood.
This, as you can probably tell, is a sorta strange story that is a bit all over the shop, but it is absolutely phenomenal! Every aspect of this movie I thoroughly enjoyed, EVEN the thieving cunt that is Shia was very good in this! He ALMOST became one of those actors I was wrong about, like Channing Tatum and especially Matthew McConaughey, he was great in Lawless, brilliant in this and he will be with Lars Von Trier in Nymphomaniac, so my hopes were high! Then, LITERALLY the next day, it all comes out about his scumbag plagiarism. Despite being a total dickhead, he delivers in this and really goes for it in the role, the point of actually taking LSD so his trip was more realistic looking, you can tell he's on another dimension during the scene.
The love story between himself and Gabi will give you the stupidest grin in your face, you wont believe! You almost feel like punching the air everytime you see them together and it's going well, which is a SERIOUSLY good point for the film, cause it means you actually fear what may happen to them, especially at the hands of Nigel, who Mads plays flawlessly and despicably. This whole film was perfect I thought, it really caught me off guard. Visuals were absolutely astounding throughout, one of those movies that you could pause at certain moments and it would look like a carefully and brilliantly crafted photograph. Maybe not to the level of Only God Forgives though, where every fucking frame was a work of art. The choices of music were excellent too, pretty much all tremendously uplifting electronic music through out. In a lot of ways making certain scenes that extra bit more inspiring! It truly knows how to construct itself altogether.
The main vein of the movie is a drama but with even spatters of comic relief with the two Brit druggies, incredible romance with Charlie and Gabi and spine shattering intensity with Nigel and Charlie. It all mixes well and will be guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face. It's a very low key film at the moment but I hope to fuck it explodes onto screens everywhere, it definitely needs the recognition it deserves! Don't write it off cause of Shia, I would have normally 'til I saw Wood and Mikkelsen were involved. One of the best decisions of the year I've made was to not do so!
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