Kim (Stacie Mistysyn) is a middle-aged woman trying to live her life. Working as an air traffic controller, she spends most of her days sleeping and many of her nights rocking out, fronting a cover band. One night, after a co-worker goes home sick, she’s left alone manning a post that requires two controllers. It’s not usually busy, so Kim doesn’t have any worries at first. Tragically, a series of events unfolds which results in an airliner striking and downing a small craft on her watch. Despite having guided the damaged airliner to an airport without further incident, Kim is wracked with guilt for the four who lost their lives in the small plane and begins making some rash decisions.
Despite his attempts to care for and connect with Kim, her husband, Jeff (Bruce Dinsmore), is unaware that she has started an affair with a man named Charlie (David La Haye) at the nightclub where she performs. Charlie learns about some of Kim’s issues through one of these clandestine meetings and offers her a job at his shady real-estate company. Trusting him at first, Kim convinces Jeff to invest their savings in Charlie’s company, but she soon realizes that Charlie is running a classic Ponzi scheme.
The story takes this twist in stride when Kim and Jeff begin working together to bring Charlie down. Utilizing Jeff’s police connections, they risk his career to stop Charlie’s plans. Still more twists and turns happen as one of Charlie’s other mistresses becomes embroiled in the plot and a mysterious, threatening man appears at Kim’s doorstep, trying to track her down.
Charlie Tango is a film that just keeps giving. At first, I thought I was in for a tear-jerker of a drama, but the elements just kept stacking up as the film continued! Simon Boisvert skillfully directs this low-budget thriller through each twist and turn, skillfully navigating an unsure world filled with red herrings and tragedy without ever missing a beat. Every role is skillfully acted, and the scenario is surprisingly well-considered for how complex the storyline becomes.
Characterization begins quickly after the film’s snappy intro, expertly introducing the main characters and showing us their motivations before throwing us into lie after lie. The resulting tangled web of loyalties and manipulations unwinds almost naturally as the drama becomes a crime thriller. Charlie Tango is incredibly convoluted at times but in a fun way. I can see how some viewers will be overwhelmed by the red herrings and near-constant twists, but folks who love a good mystery will be almost instantly captivated.
Overall, Charlie Tango is incredibly well written, shot, and produced, creating a cinematic experience you’ll barely believe is indie. Given a few more films and some bigger budgets, Boisvert might become a household name for thriller fans. If you’re looking for high drama and intense suspense, watch Charlie Tango today.
Highly recommended.
4.5* (Out of 5)
