Susan and Charlie share a revelatory encounter in the bathroom, sharing painful memories of their not so happy experiences: "The night he found out my mother was having an affair." In all these confessional visits to the bathroom, the interlocutor never sees Charlie's face, but in this scene you could feel much more than eye contact — although Susan was separated from him by a wall, they were seeing through it. Charlie's face cannot hide a profound, existential disappointment when Susan talks about her dysfunctional family: "I guess what I'm trying to say is it just... it kind of sucks having one parent ditch and then the other one lose their mind. I mean, how can I possibly hope to turn out even remotely functional?" Kat Dennings is really inspired and sober in this conversation.
Charlie expresses an individual, national, and universal crisis: "I get up every morning and I look in the mirror and I try and figure out just where I fit in. And I draw a complete blank. And you guys are looking to me to tell you what to do? You need to stop listening to me."
This is an exceptional, subtle performance by Anton Yelchin, who creates a fully fleshed character who is battling a collective crisis and who responds to it without being over-dramatic or hysterical. "Some days are better than others," he says to Susan's father. And Nathan really understands Charlie in a crucial moment when both have shared too much in few minutes (Downey Jr. is brightly jaded here).
DVD extras:
- Commentary track with director John Poll, Anton Yelchin and Kat Dennings: discussion of the movie and scenes involved.
- Commentary track with director John Poll and Gustin Nash: they discuss more the technical details of the film, including the script.
- Spinal Beach “Voodoo” music video.
- Restroom Confessional: On the fullscreen side, several of the actors, in character, riffing with their problems to discuss with Charlie in the bathroom. It’s essentially a gag reel.
Article comments
1 - Phillip Winn
Very interesting review.
I was a reluctant viewer of this film at first; my brother promised it would be better than I expected. He was right. Robert Downey Jr is masterful, and covers for a few implausible bits in the script.
Enjoyable film. Thanks!
2 - Kendra
I'm glad you like it, Phillip!
"Charlie Bartlett" is a bit underrated, and I think it's unfair, it has great performances and continuous doses of intelligent humour.