It Was You Charlie

It Was You Charlie is a 2013 Canadian comedy-drama film. It is the first feature film of director Emmanuel Shirinian who wrote its screenplay.[2] The movie tells the story of a lonely graveyard shift doorman named Abner, a once-accomplished sculptor and former college art teacher, but now sadly, a mere shadow of his former self. He is heartbroken because of an unresolved conflict with his brother over a woman he once loved, and is at the same time consumed with guilt and suicidal thoughts as he remains profoundly haunted a year after a terrible car accident that took the life of the young woman in the other vehicle.

It Was You Charlie
Film poster
Directed byEmmanuel Shirinian
Produced byDavid Miller
Darren Portelli
Written byEmmanuel Shirinian
StarringMichael D. Cohen
Emma Fleury
Aaron Abrams
Music byRyan Latham
CinematographyLuc Montpellier
Edited byAren Hansen
Production
company
Alone Together Productions
Spiral Entertainment
A71 Productions
Distributed by108 Media[1]
A71 Entertainment
Release date
  • 6 October 2013 (2013-10-06) (BIFF)
Running time
77 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

Plot

It Was You Charlie (the title refers to On the Waterfront)[3][4][5] explores the lonely life of Abner (Michael D. Cohen) a short, schluby, suicidally-depressed former teacher-artist turned graveyard shift doorman and the fierce sibling rivalry he endures (if not imagines) with Tom (Aaron Abrams), his tall, handsome, lady-killing brother. Abner also harbours a tragic secret that has debilitated his professional and personal life while Tom not only seems to have everything going for him, but also scores with Madeleine (Anna Hopkins), the babe our haplessly loveable schlemiel has long held a torch for.[6] Zoe, a mysterious young blonde cab driver in a bright yellow beret, appears in Abner’s life, but for reasons he cannot understand. Nor does he understand the repeated appearance of strange men in trench coats who seem to follow him wherever he goes. There is also something about a painting in his local diner that mesmerizes him. Estranged from his family and even further estranged from a normal life, Abner must make sense of the things around him and come to terms with what has haunted him these years.[7] After meeting Zoe, something magical happens to Abner as he begins a quest to seek redemption, and reconcile his conflicted past.

Cast
  • Michael Cohen as Abner
  • Emma Fleury as Zoe
  • Aaron Abrams as Tom
  • Anna Hopkins as Madeleine
  • Alon Nashman as Travis
  • Phyllis Ellis as Ethel
  • Mike Wilmot as Detective Powell
  • Theresa Tova as Sandra
  • Tony Rosato as Gus
  • Henry Allesandroni as Manager
  • Gillian Bennett as Make out woman
  • Russell Bennett as Make out man
  • Curtis Hibbert as Cop number one
  • Alain Chanoine as Cop number two
  • Wayne Carnew as Mystery man
  • Krysta Lee as Waitress
  • Aaron Hale as young kid
  • Jimi Shlag as Evening Doorman

Release

It Was You Charlie was filmed in Toronto[8] and premiered at the Busan International Film Festival on 6 October 2013.[9]

The order is followed by Release date

Reception

The film's negative reviews were critical of how it mixed the humorous and serious content. The Toronto Star noted its "uneven blend of drama and comedy" while The Globe and Mail noted the "shifts between dark and comic never quite jive" while Now deemed the film a "mopey, sluggish study" of its protagonist.[2][10][11] It received a neutral rating from Victoria's Times Colonist.[12] one reviewer From Rotten Tomatoes says the movie overly eccentric and underdeveloped[13] Another review from Way Too Inside noted the film that knows what it wants to do but struggles to pull it off, "Throughout It Was You Charlie there is a sense that Shirinian has a firm grasp of the complete film in his head, but he struggles to make a clear presentation of it on-screen. Most of the humorous moments try too hard to be funny and only manage to feel forced and fall flat." [7]The New York Times noted the writer and director Emmanuel Shirinian’s has "taste for quirky detail" and the movie starts as an exercise in bleak absurdism and ends as a Frank Capra Christmas special, with little originality in between.[14] The Arts Guild has positive review about this film, it noted the film has"The balanced cinematography, well-selected music, and simple direction allow us to dig into the film, truly experience every moment." [15]The Village Voice noted that director Shirinian has made a swift, moody film, with impeccable art design.[16] Abner is a miserable creature and yet, under Shirinian’s sure hand, we end up caring very deeply about his strange, surreal plight and want nothing more than to see him climb out of his self-made quagmire.Toronto Metro Entertainment[17]

Awards

References
  1. "It Was You Charlie". Telefilm Canada. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  2. DeMara, Bruce (14 August 2014). "It Was You Charlie not quite whimsical enough: review". Toronto Star. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  3. TORONTO ONLINE FILM MAGAZINE INTERVIEW: EMMANUEL SHIRINIAN, DIRECTOR OF IT WAS YOU CHARLIE, retrieved 31 March 2018
  4. It’s worth leaping through a small window for It Was You Charlie, retrieved 26 March 2018
  5. SCENE CREEK:The latest news in film and entertainment across Canada-Interview: Director Emmanuel Shirinian talks It Was You Charlie, retrieved 31 March 2018
  6. IT WAS YOU CHARLIE - Review By Greg Klymkiw - Sad & Funny First Feature By Indie English-Canuck Shirinian, retrieved 26 March 2018
  7. It Was You Charlie Movie Review, retrieved 24 March 2018
  8. Film sleepwalks past the night doorman; Dodgy timelines blur professor's mysterious story-ProQuest
  9. Vlessing, Etan (2 October 2013). "108 Media acquires world rights to It Was You Charlie". Playback. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  10. Semley, John (15 August 2014). "It Was You Charlie: Uncomfortable shifts between dark and comic". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  11. Wilner, Norm (2014). "It Was You Charlie". Now. Toronto. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  12. Reid, Michael D. (10 February 2014). "Reviewed: Down River; It Was You Charlie". Times Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  13. It Was You Charlie, retrieved 21 March 2018
  14. A Brother’s Betrayal, in Darkly Comic Tones, retrieved 23 March 2018
  15. It Was You Charlie (2014) – Film Review, retrieved 26 March 2018
  16. The Bleakly Funny It Was You Charlie Boasts a Great Central Performance, retrieved 28 March 2018
  17. TORONTO METRO ENTERTAINMENT:It Was You Charlie: Canadian filmmaker Emmanuel Shirinian talks feature length debut, retrieved 31 March 2018
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