This movie really worked for me. It's well passed, moves right along, doesn't get stuck trying to be or do one thing or another. It switches from flash back to present day to surreal, inside-the-mind-of type of shots with smoothness and balance. The movie doesn't demand that you follow the details of a complex plot, it more like an emotional canvas. And it's more than about Swan as well, which gives the story depth. All the actors performances are top notch. The music? The music is outstanding!!

Well that's how the movie might have been promoted. But while "Being John Malkovich" actually was funny and enticing, this might have one good scene in it (involving Cowboys). It tries hard to be quirky, casting Bill Murray helps with that. But Charlie Sheen who is playing the character Charles Swan does not cut it. I like quite a lot of Charlies movies he has done. But he can't pull this one off (meta or not).The problem of the movie therefor relies not in its incoherence (it has somewhat of a straight story line in between all the dream sequences or whatever you want to call them), rather in the lack of "good" incoherence. There is system and a plan when it comes to madness and trying to explore the mind as again "Being John Malkovich" has proved. Charlie Kaufman (another Charlie) is better suited in portraying this. I would suggest not wasting your time on this

"Maybe someone hurt me, you ever think of that, maybe someone hurt me." Charles Swan III (Sheen) is having a bad day. His girlfriend just broke up with him and he has a near death experience. When he wakes up in the hospital he begins to go over what happened. This is a very hard movie to review. It was very bizarre but OK. The only real way to review this is that the movie was written and directed by Roman Coppola. While this is his first real movie he has directed he helped to write Moonrise Kingdom and Darjeeling Limited. The movie has a type of a Wes Anderson feel to it so if you like his type of comedy then you will like this. If you don't get or don't like his humor then I would avoid this. That is really the only thing I can say about this movie. Overall, not bad but really made for a specific audience. I give it a B-.

There are films that seem to be quirky for the sake of being quirky. There are films out there that seem like they were more fun to make than they are to watch. There are films that have a phenomenal cast, but none of the roles are as interesting as you could hope. There are films that have plenty going for them, but fail to come together as a whole. A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III is all of these films.Written and directed by Roman Coppola, the co-writer of two Wes Anderson films (The Darjeeling Limited and Moonrise Kingdom), A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III feels like a parody of a Wes Anderson film that never moves past imitation and into the charming fun that we expect from an Anderson film.The film stars Charlie Sheen as Charles Swan, a middle-aged, depressed, substance using artist who is coming to terms with a break-up with a woman he both loved and hated. Through a series of scenes that change from reality to what Charles is imagining, the film shows us that even though Charles absolutely hates many things about this woman, he can't live without her. He talks with several friends and members of his family (roles played by Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, and Patricia Arquette), but still can't come to terms with her leaving him.What the film does offer is some pretty interesting imaginary scenes inside Charles' mind. From being attacked by attractive Native American dressed women to a ball-busting military force trying to chase Charles down, there is plenty to enjoy in the early parts of the film. But as the story moves along, it starts to drag…and that is saying something for a film that is only an hour and twenty minutes long. The first forty minutes is pretty entertaining, the last ten minutes are enjoyable, but there is a middle half-hour that lags some of the quirk, originality, and fun writing.The other major achievement of the film is the work of Charlie Sheen, who, seemingly, can actually still act. Even though the role is pretty much exactly himself, there are a few scenes here and there where he displays the acting talents that made him a name in the first place. Topped off with a heartfelt monologue near the end of the film that Coppola writes with one of the best arguments for not breaking up I have heard in a long time, Sheen shows he is still a legitimate talent, even if his personal life is something to worry any director or producer from hiring him.To read the rest of the review (IMDb form too short) visit: custodianfilmcritic.com/a-glimpse-inside-the-mind/