2010 - Charlie St. Cloud Film Review

Release Date - July 30 2010
Tagline - Life is for living
Plot
Charlie St. Cloud is a young man overcome by grief at the death of his younger brother. So much so that he takes a job as caretaker of the cemetery in which his brother is buried. Charlie has a special lasting bond with his brother though, as he can see him. Charlie meets up with his brother (Sam) each night to play catch and talk. Then, a girl comes into Charlie's life and he must choose between keeping a promise he made to Sam, or going after the girl he loves.
Title - Charlie St. Cloud
Like so many other stories, this is the name of the Protagonist.

Hero - Charlie St. Cloud
The Four Questions
Who is the hero? Charlie
What does he want? To keep his promise to Sam
Who's trying to stop him? Himself
What happens if he fails? He will spend the rest of his life playing catch with Sam in the cemetery (Social and Psychological Death)
Theme
Self-Exploration
Moral Premise 1
Virtue - Living in the present for Love
Vice - Living in the past for Love
Living in the past for love leads to neglecting your dreams and experiencing guilt, but Living in the present for love leads to fulfilling your dreams and experiencing love.

Moral Premise 2
Holding on to impossible promises shackles you to a life of regret, but Breaking impossible promises frees you to live your life.
Sequence 1 - Charlie is an Orphan because his brother Sam dies in a car accident, leaving him alone and unable to keep his promise.
Sequence 2 - Charlie is a Wanderer because his life's on hold and he's stuck living in the past.
Sequence 3 - Charlie is a Warrior because his romantic interest in Tess actually forces him to step outside of himself and make contact with her.
Sequence 4 - Charlie is a Martyr because he risks his life to save Tess.
Issues
(Structural Development)
He says goodbye to his brother on ship when he's looking for Tess, is it necessary for him to see Sam again?
Why does his mother disappear from the film after Sam's death?
Why isn't his co-worker part of his storyline instead of being pasted in?
The only problem with the Moral Premise is that Charlie's mother was living in the present for Charlie's future and all she got was Charlie totally ignoring his mother, I don't see how this is a positive trait for Charlie and this is a huge problem. Why isn't their relationship and her character arc resolved?
(Mixed POV)
Trying to show scenes from Tess's POV cripples his self-revelation and strips his power.

(Tess Character Development)
They build Tess' romantic interest in Charlie and at the end, her reaction is too weak.
They don't plant Tess' attachment to her father's grave.

(Subplot Development)
They could've strengthened the Paramedic's subplot being that he's the Booster Rocket and part of Charlie's spiritual development in the film.
(Long Ending)
The ending is drawn out and uses too many scenes for exposition and dialogue that could've been dispersed throughout the rest of the film.