500 Days Of Film Reviews Charlie St Cloud And Finds An Easy, Yet Engaging Drama Starring The Ever Watchable Zak Efron.
Sometimes you need a film to challenge you, to scare you, make you laugh or make you cry.
However, sometimes you just want to snuggle up on the sofa and watch something easy and comfortable. Charlie St Cloud falls into the latter category.
Now, don’t get me wrong - I don’t mean this in any negative way. I was engaged throughout this film and, even though I was snuggled up on my sofa watching it, I didn’t once check my phone or get up to get a snack. And that is high praise indeed!
Charlie St Cloud (Zak Efron) develops the ability to see dead people following a tragic accident that takes the life of his younger brother. Feeling an almost unbearable guilt, Charlie promises to meet his brother in the woods every day to fulfill his earlier promise of teaching him to play baseball.
The supernatural aspect of this film is downplayed as it focuses more on the difficulties of moving on in the face of tragedy. Should Charlie keep living a life dedicated to his brother or should he move on?
Is It Any Good?
Charlie St Cloud was a pleasant enough watch and gorgeous to look at. It wasn't in-your-face challenging or ground breaking but you don't always need that do you.
While quite predictable, the film didn’t follow the exact path that I had imagined and, as a result, I didn’t get bored. However, this is a film that you could do a spot of ironing in front of if you see what I mean (cementing the fact that I may not be within this film's target demographic!).
Zak Efron’s performance was sensitive and engaging but not overly sentimental. By this I mean that I didn’t cry. It didn’t pull me in so that I felt overwhelmed by the sadness of the situation - something I was worried about seeing as I have have a young son also called Samuel.
Random Observations
Are Zak Efron’s eyes CGI?
Hmmm… Ray Liotta always gives me the chills. You?