Shadows on the Wall | Fast Charlie

Fast Charlie

dir Phillip Noyce
scr Richard Wenk
prd Daniel Grodnik, Mitchell Welch, Ryan Donnell Smith, Brent C Johnson, Jeff Holland
with Pierce Brosnan, Morena Baccarin, James Caan, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Toby Huss, Fredric Lehne, Sharon Gless, Brennan Keel Cook, Christopher Matthew Cook, Jacob Grodnik, Stephen Louis Grush, David Chattam
release US 8.Dec.23
23/US 1h30

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While this crime thriller is familiar, a blackly comical tone prevents it from being dull. Even with the repetitive brutality, a gritty spark makes it engaging, anchored in Pierce Brosnan's considerable charisma. In addition to setting the scene gorgeously on the Gulf Coast, director Phillip Noyce knows how to keep things moving slickly. And he also finds ways to reveal internal motivations in characters even when things get silly.

On the Mississippi seaside, fixer Charlie (Brosnan) is in trouble after his young hitman cohort Blade (Cook) blows up their target's head. So the question is how to prove to their New Orleans mobster client Beggar (Akinnagbe) that they got the right guy. To identify the body, Charlie tracks down the dead man's ex-wife Marcie (Baccarin), a straight-talker who has left her criminal past behind. Then when things take a turn, Charlie teams with Marcie to protect his boss and friend Stan (Caan). But they'll to need to take down Beggar in order to survive.

What follows is a rather mindless string of violent murders, all in the name of cleaning up the town. One by one, Charlie tracks down Beggar's various goons, squares off against them in an ambush, fight or chase. There's never much of a question about how this will turn out. But at least the thugs are slightly more than the usual nameless, faceless baddies. And there are several enjoyably pointless twists and turns that keep the underlying narrative moving right along.

At 70, Brosnan brings a terrific world-weary sensibility to Charlie, a guy who is fed up with the game but still has some fire in him. His gruff personality here doesn't conceal his charm, so it's fun to watch him so carefully go about his business. He also has an enjoyably flirty-bristly chemistry with Baccarin, who's terrific in a tough-edged role. And it's great to see the late Caan on top form in one of his final roles.

There isn't much to this film, but its carefully staged grisliness and gently predictable plot are very easy to watch when the cast is this good. And there's a gentle follow-your-heart angle to the story as well. "You really ought to start thinking about an exit plan," Marcie says to Charlie as things get increasingly murky. And it becomes clear that he's thought of little else for decades.

themes, language, violence 6.Dec.23

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