Charlie St. Cloud strives to be a weepy drama, a coming of age story, a tale of the supernatural, and a romance all rolled into one. By attempting to combine these different narrative types however, it lacks focus on any one particular aspect, resulting in a completely average film. The storytellers try to make the movie accessible to a multitude of audiences by writing something completely inoffensive, which inherently prevents it from being interesting.
The St. Cloud brothers, Charlie (Zac Efron) and Sam (Charlie Tahan) seem to have a bright future ahead of them; the two have just won a major sailing competition together, and Charlie has plans to attend a prestigious college on a scholarship. The pair has a strong bond, which is further solidified by the absence of a father figure. Their single mother (Kim Basinger) works long hours to support them, so in essence Charlie is his brother’s caretaker. Their banter and bickering comes close to that of real siblings, written with a little bit of crude humor, that is largely dulled by the writers’ attempts to please viewers seeking the warm and fuzzy parts of the story.
One night when Charlie is charged with watching Sam, tragedy strikes. While the two are out for a drive, another driver slams into their car, killing Sam and nearly taking Charlie’s life. Charlie is revived by a kind paramedic (Ray Liotta), but for Charlie though, living through the accident only makes the hurt worse. Consumed with guilt over the loss of his brother, Charlie flees Sam’s funeral rather than staying to face his brother’s burial. As he runs from the cemetery into the woods, surprisingly he stumbles upon Sam’s ghost. It is in this clearing that Charlie promises Sam that he will never abandon him again.
Cut to five years later: Charlie has given up his scholarship and stayed in his hometown to work as the cemetery’s groundskeeper. He spends every single evening playing catch with Sam in the woods, forsaking all other personal growth or social activity. Charlie’s near death experience has a side effect: he can also see the spirits of others that have passed on. Since he is frequently visited by other spirits, Charlie has developed difficulty relating to the living.
Things change for Charlie when he crosses paths with an old classmate of his named Tess Carroll (Amanda Crew), who is training for a sailing race around the world. Tess captures Charlie’s interest and breathes new vitality into his life. As he is drawn to Tess romantically though, Charlie grapples between moving on and clinging to his brother’s memory. Overcoming his fear of the future becomes Charlie’s greatest challenge and the only chance for him to get his life back on track.
Director Burr Steers teams up again with actor Zac Efron, after collaborating with him on 2009’s comedy 17 Again. It’s clear that Steers has experience shooting Efron, since he is able to capture Charlie’s stare effectively. Steers uses Efron’s eyes to convey most of Charlie’s serious emotions, but unfortunately Efron’s brooding blue eyes dominate the film. His tears appear convincing, however there is little else to support the grief that Charlie carries around inside. The fresh-faced Efron is difficult to believe as a gruff caretaker of a cemetery even after he has undergone years of mourning.
Ultimately the film’s greatest downfall is that it is over ambitious and attempts to please too many viewers. Charlie St. Cloud tries to be a love story, a coming-of-age film, a supernatural tale, and a sentimental drama. Given the time constraints, Steers struggles with addressing all of these aspects in a way that gives them equal attention, something that makes each element simply run-of-the-mill.