2016 Catch-Up: Being Charlie and Louder Than Bombs

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     Alright guys, if you tuned in last week you probably saw the first installment of my 2016 Catch-Up series, focusing on films that I missed or had forgotten to see. This week, I’m delving into two indie character studies: Rob Reiner’s Being Charlie and Joachim Trier’s Louder Than Bombs. Are we looking at two hits again? Let’s find out.

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     Being Charlie tells the story of Charlie Mills (Nick Robinson), a young privileged kid who also happens to be a drug addict. Right after escaping one rehab facility, Charlie is sent right back to another one by his father (Carey Elwes), a former actor running for governor of California, and his clearly unwitting mother (Susan Misner). Faced with the prospect of being thrown out of his home, Charlie reluctantly enters rehab, where he meets another troubled teen named Eva (Morgan Saylor) and tries to get everything worked out. Drama ensues, as it does, and if you’ve ever watched a movie before you can probably predict what’s going to happen. 

     This film’s greatest strength is its actors, who commit 100% to a script that at times gives them really nothing to work with. Nick Robinson gives his all as Charlie and makes us feel for him even at his worst which, believe me, can be very difficult given how this character is written. I’ve been rooting for this kid since I saw him in The Kings of Summer a few years ago and I know he has the talent in him to be an A-list star one day (The 5th Wave notwithstanding). The script does hit some good emotional beats as well as comedic ones (Charlie wants to be a stand-up comedian), and that’s where you can see the potential that this film had.

     Alas, the movie is ultimately just too generic and formulaic to really leave an impact on you. I hate saying this because the film is inspired by Rob Reiner’s son Nick (who co-wrote the film) and his own experiences with drug abuse. The problem is that everything feels so by-the-book and nothing feels real, like they just copied and pasted Nick’s story onto a pre-existing script. The characters are basically all types minus Charlie himself (just barely): the dad is a dick, the mom is weepy, the best friend is a druggie, Common is a sage black man, and on and on and on. We never even really get to know why Charlie even became a drug addict except for one line given near the end of the film that’s treated like a throwaway! No trope goes untouched (except for one, which I won’t spoil) and no plot beat hits in a new way, which is sad. Not even Reiner’s direction or cinematography is anything to write home about. 

     The problem with Being Charlie isn’t that it’s bad (it isn’t at all), it’s just that it had so much potential and settled on being average. Given the source of this script I was hoping for something really moving and powerful, but was really let down by the end product. However, the actors elevate their material with their performances, especially Nick Robinson, and the film has enough genuinely funny moments to make it an enjoyable watch. Just feel bad for the poor soul who had to pay full price to see this in a theater.

My Rating: 3 stars out of 5 

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     Louder Than Bombs focuses on the trials and travails of the Reed family: Gene (Gabriel Byrne), the father, and his two sons Jonah (Jesse Eisenberg) and Conrad (Devin Druid). Two years earlier the matriarch of the family, Isabelle (Isabelle Huppert), a photojournalist for some of the most dangerous places on Earth, was killed in a car accident. When art galleries start asking for her photos and an article by a family friend (David Straitharn) packed with hidden secrets looms, the family is forced to deal with their own troubles, like Gene’s loneliness or Jonah’s inability to connect with his young wife and newborn child. In effect, the film follows two narratives, the first being the one of the family and the other being about exactly what happened to Isabelle the night of the crash. 

     I wish I had seen this when it had come out, because it deserves a full review. Joachim Trier deserves a lot of credit for his ambition, using neat time shifts, narrator changes and some very evocative imagery to tell this story. All of the actors are great, bringing a relatability to their characters that really makes you think of your own families at points, and the script gives them a lot to emote and show without saying anything at all. Because the characters feel real, the emotional beats hit that much harder when they come (and boy do they come), but the film never overwhelms the audience with them. Things get complicated and more than a little arty, mostly for the film’s benefit, so be prepared to pay attention, but the film rewards it all the way through. 

     As far as negatives go, I can only think of one major one and a few minors. Trier’s arty direction sometimes becomes a little too pretentious for no reason, like a slow-mo shot of some cheerleaders or having the camera linger way too long on a particular shot without really justifying it with a character action or emoting. However, my biggest complaint is that Jonah’s storyline never really gets a fitting conclusion. He gets a big focus in the first half and seems to be important throughout, but only Gene and Conrad really get some sort of closure, which is more than a little frustrating given how well the stories are all told throughout most of it. Given that the family literally drives off to resolve Jonah’s character arc at the end I assume that’s some solace for the viewer, but I felt really let down by it. 

     Outside of my big complaint, Louder Than Bombs is an excellent film, acting as a perfect portrait of a family in mourning and how that grief has affected their lives. The script is well-written, the actors are all wonderful, and the director isn’t afraid to be a little weird to get his point across, which are all ingredients for a good film. If you like well-made dramas that will make you think, I can’t think of many better than this one. 

My Rating: 4 stars out of 5 

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