A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III (2012)

 

Genre: Comedy                        

Time: 1h 26mins               

Director: Roman Coppola

Quick Summary: A graphic designer (Charlie Sheen) plays out unusual fantasies in his head as a way of coping with the departure of his longtime lover.

This film shows what happens when you prioritise style over substance and feels like a bit of a waste of talent overall. 

The fantasy sections are great fun, from a tomahawk-wielding raiding party of scantily clad female “Indians,” to a sci-fi-ish semi-military organization run by ladies in garters, to a rescue fantasy in which Charles smoothly dispatches an evil Nazi, they are all charming renderings of the daydreams of a man who has never grown up. And as much as they are excuses for a lot of gorgeous women to wear fantastic costumes, they work best as the titular glimpses inside a mind.

Charles Swan is supposed to be an irresistible devil but the burnt-out Sheen we get has no charisma at all. I found him incredibly boring, not even ironically funny. In fact, very little of the film is funny even though it is full of great actors. It wastes them. Especially Bill Murry who is given little dialogue that isn't that interesting. 

Visually it's very polished, with surprisingly a lot of thought going into it. The sets pop with colour and wack designs that look like they've walked right out of the 50s/60s. Mostly, that's what kept me watching this film like a sensory video as it was incredibly pleasing to watch. Every fantasy scene was extravagant and wild, going as extra as it could be. I also liked the costume designs, each one matching perfectly with the set and being full of colour.

There are no surprises, no revelations and almost no fun. The Plot is incredibly messy. I watched this film fully, and I don't think I had a clue what was going on most of the time, kinda like a fever dream things just kept happening. It's supposed to be an emotional downfall of someone who has lost his lover, but really a lot of this is him daydreaming about women or some sort of weird scenario. 

2/10

"I'm Lost"