What’s a teen idol to do when they want to break free of their squeaky clean persona? Play similar roles until the offers run dry and fade into obscurity or attempt weightier fare to prove themselves in ‘serious’ performances? If you’re Zac Efron you’d try the latter as Charlie St. Cloud attests. Reasonably adequate without being remarkable, he makes a fair attempt in unfurling the cheesy mantle of his various High School Musical frolics.
Boat enthusiast Charlie St. Cloud (Zac Efron) is about to head to college and nears the time to say his farewells to his family including his younger brother Sam (Charlie Tahan). Tragedy strikes when Sam is killed in a car crash, leaving Charlie devastated. Unable to process this loss, he finds work as a care-taker in the local cemetery where he imagines his brother is still alive. Local girl Tess (Amanda Crew) sees the troubled soul he has become and attempts to heal his wounds before further heartbreak occurs.
Even though Me and Orson Welles proved he could act, Efron’s chances of further showcasing his talents are poorly served by this half-baked effort. Sinking under the weight of Burr Steers’ plodding direction and incomprehensible plot with its borrowing from The Sixth Sense and The Ghost Whisperer seem rather shameless. This would have been mildly acceptable had it not altered their ideas to suit its wonky narrative. When its own twist on this arrives it spins the story into the realms of far-fetched fantasy conjuring a number of glaring plot holes.
These artistic choices wildly deviate from the aims of a film initially marketed as Efron’s entry into gritty drama. Filled with over-ripe orchestration and photographed in a vivid lushness befitting the type of movie from which he wants to escape heightens the level of implausibility. Although the screenplay occasionally provides some interest as it delves into some dark themes, it consistently fails to convince and negates from the actors’ effort to seriously emote.
A mis-step along the path of professional credibility, Charlie St. Cloud is an ineffective addition to Efron’s resume. Trying too hard to wring emotion from its risible story, hopefully it will be a marker for the sort of script he should avoid and allow him to succeed where his many contemporaries have failed.
Movie Review Rating 4 / 10
Movie Review by Patrick Moore
Charlie St. Cloud released in Australia on Thursday 23 September 2010.
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