Charlie St. Cloud , will go on circuit on Friday October 22nd . It is one of those “feel good movies” that is a mix of love and sadness, laughter and tearsrelationships, and even a sprinkling of sport!
The movie is based on Ben Sherwood’s touching novel “The death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud”. Charlie, played by Zac Efron, is a teenager with a bright future. He lives with his mom and 11-year old brother in a small Mid-Western American town, and although he is very close to his younger brother, he is looking forward to embarking on an exciting new chapter in his life.
Charlie has a passion for sailing, and has become an accomplished sailor, and as such, has been awarded a Sailing Scholarship to attend Stanford University.
His baby brother, Sam, played by the adorable Charlie Tahan, has dreams of becoming a top notch baseball player and Charlie promises to meet him every day at Sunset, to coach him, until he leaves for Stanford.
Tragically, the brothers are involved in a devastating car accident, which briefly claims both their lives, but Charlie is miraculously brought back from “the light” by a dedicated Paramedic, played by Ray Liotta. Sam, unfortunately, cannot be saved.
Charlie is completely and utterly inconsolable, and for all intents and purposes may as well be dead, as he cannot imagine facing life without his brother.
At Sam’s funeral Charlie runs from the graveside into the adjoining forest, trips and falls, just as the sound of the sunset cannon resounds through the little village, and as he gets up, he sees Sam, baseball and mitt in hand, ready for his sunset coaching session. Charlie vows to keep the promise he made to his brother to meet him every day at sunset for their baseball coaching session.
Sam becomes reclusive, until… five years later… an old school friend, and fellow sailor, played by beautiful Canadian actress, Amanda Crew, comes back into his life, after a long absence, and Charlie falls deeply in love with her.
I am not going to be a spoiler and give the rest away, but suffice it to say, the movie captivated me, and as this romantic drama unfolded, I realised that G-d does indeed have a plan for all of us!
The author talks about “the bond between two brothers, the sense of deep loss, being frozen in time, and the liberating power of love”, and this is essentially what this heart warming story is about. It’s about relationships and brotherly love, it’s about making choices, it’s about moving on, and above all it shows how love can really conquer all.
Charlie St. Cloud is not for the under 12’s, but teens and mom’s will love it!
Director, Burr Steers, of “17 Again” fame, was literally “drawn to this tale of love, loss and renewal”, and the screenplay has really done Sherwood’s novel proud.
With a brilliant cast, which also includes a brief appearance by Kim Basinger as Charlie and Sam’s mother, Charlie St. Cloud, is a movie I could definitely watch again!
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