I first saw Luke Goss acting in Blade 2, and considering the make up he had on I guess that was quite an exploit I thought "hey that one's acting real good !" That's how I landed on Charlie, which came unadvertised in France, besides the fact that the characters it is based on are utterly unknown here. I gave a 10/10 to this film mainly because of the acting. On the whole, the "trial-structure" with flashbacks is quite conventional, yet the filming and the scenario are well-knit, and as regards the image, the contrast between the British greys and blue tones with the blinding and warm colours of South Africa are particularly well conveyed. One does not escape a feeling of unease since virtually NO message is conveyed. Through positive and mainly negative people talking about Charlie Richardson and the flash back scenes, the viewer is maintained at a certain distance of the character. I guess that's the reason why many viewers consider this movie as a failure : it does not seek sympathy and simply presents scenes of which we are not really told how true they are. There is virtually no personal insight in Charlie Richardson's personality, only a patchwork of different scenes, personal and criminal, and even the comments the actor makes do not convey a personal impact. This is maybe the force of this film : though not claiming for a documentary dimension, it does achieve the effect by its coldness. If it's on purpose, that's brilliant As far as the acting is concerned, the whole cast is regularly good, and Luke Goss is outstanding. As pointed out in other comments, he impersonates Charlie Richardson with great passion and does convey an impression of grim humour and dangerousness, with complexity. I would add that Charlie Richardson himself approved of his being cast for the role on meeting him, and "fell for the guy".
By the way, as for those who would like to know, yes, even with this hairstyle, he is damn hot :P ( sorry, one remains a human being, even before a gangster movie :)
By the way, as for those who would like to know, yes, even with this hairstyle, he is damn hot :P ( sorry, one remains a human being, even before a gangster movie :)