The film Charlie St. Cloud is a new look at Zac Efron's talents.

The story starts with realistic camaraderie between Charlie St. Cloud (Efron) and his brother Sam (Charlie Tahan). The two have great plans for the future. For Charlie, it's college with a boat-racing scholarship; for Sam, making the next highest team in baseball. Then Sam's horrible and untimely death causes everything to change.

Charlie becomes the keeper of the cemetery, and every night goes into the forest to play catch with his dead brother.

Efron does a skillful job at portraying the mysterious and misunderstood boy. Many girls in town have the eye for Charlie, but he only cares about his brother. That is, until Tess Carroll (Amanda Crew) enters his life. He manages to balance the two — or so he thinks. Only after he has created a relationship with Tess does he realize that she is not really there, it is her spirit that is with him. Tess is near death after a boating accident, and Charlie knows that he is the only one who can save her — but doing so means he will lose his nights with his brother. Is it worth it?

This soul-catching movie will make you look at life and death in a different way, and appreciate Zac Efron for more than his good looks. His chemistry with Crew is phenomenal and seemingly effortless.

I highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes his work or appreciates a well-done film.

Amethyst Collins is a junior at Los Alamos High School. You can reach her at amzie.nm@hotmail.com.