Fast Charlie (2023) Movie Review
The other night, I was flipping through channels, and I landed on TCM's showing of "Friedkin Uncut." It's a movie I've enjoyed before and even reviewed elsewhere, so watching it again was a nice way to pass the time. Quentin Tarantino's thoughts on casting in filmmaking caught my attention during the show. He questioned the common belief that casting is 90 percent of filmmaking, suggesting it might be more like 80 percent.
Movie Review
Later, I was watching a new film directed by Philip Noyce, with a script by Richard Wenk based on a novel by Victor Gischler. The movie, "Fast Charlie," follows a familiar plot – a mob fixer thinking about retirement who gets caught up in criminal reorganization, likely leading to trouble. In these situations, we usually assume the main character, Fast Charlie in this case, will find clever and ruthless ways to navigate through the challenges.
In this case, being familiar with the story doesn't make it boring – it actually adds to the enjoyment, and a big part of that is thanks to the cast. Pierce Brosnan takes on the role of Charlie Swift, a mob operative in Biloxi. He goes all-in with a Southern accent as thick as the widest part of the Mississippi River, and you can't help but love it.
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It all starts with Charlie getting rid of a guy named Rollo, as requested by his bosses Sol and Stan, who are trying to help out a rising star named Beggar. Charlie teams up with a young guy known as "Blade," but things take a turn, and Charlie ends up giving him the nickname "Donut," much to the kid's dismay. The aftermath of the hit leads Charlie to visit Rollo's ex, a taxidermist named Marcie, played by the charming Morena Baccarin.
Charlie's crew is a pretty down-to-earth bunch of criminals. Surprisingly, Charlie's immediate boss, Stan, is dealing with Alzheimer's, and Charlie takes care of him. James Caan, in his last film role, plays Stan with both poignancy and charm. Trouble starts brewing when the ambitious Beggar, denied a meeting with Stan, decides to take matters into his own hands, leading to a violent criminal uprising.
Although I haven't read the book that inspired the movie, the dialogue gives off vibes similar to Elmore Leonard or Carl Hiaasen – a mix of dry humor and mayhem. At one point, Brosnan's character gives Baccarin's character a dead fox to stuff, and when she asks for its name, he casually replies, "Rocky."
It’s like the Smith of raccoons,” he says, making a lot of sense.
And it continues this way throughout. We also get to enjoy Sharon Gless playing an incredibly rude mother-in-law, making you forget how polite she was on “Cagney and Lacey” and clearly having a blast. Without director Noyce’s smooth direction, efficiency, and good taste, this very likable cast might have struggled instead of smoothly sailing to the thoroughly satisfying ending this crime story delivers. So, hats off to everyone involved. It's not the kind of movie that will change the world, but as an evening's entertainment, it more than gets the job done.