Zac Efron Gets Emotional In 'Charlie St. Cloud'

Sometimes love advice comes from the most unexpected source...

Zac Efron's known as one of Hollywood's biggest crushes, but in his new romantic drama Charlie St. Cloud, Efron's role as the title character sees him as the one coping with a broken heart. Accomplished sailor Charlie St. Cloud (Efron) has the adoration of mother Claire (Oscar winner Kim Basinger) and little brother Sam (newcomer Charlie Tahan), as well as a college scholarship that will lead him far from his sleepy Pacific Northwest hometown. But his bright future is cut short when a tragedy strikes and takes his dreams with it.

During a car accident, the brothers reach out to one another when it looks as if they are about to die. In that moment, Charlie swears to Sam that he will never leave him. But abruptly, Charlie is revived by the intervention of determined paramedic Florio Ferrente (Ray Liotta). Sam, tragically, could not be saved.

Charlie is inconsolable. During his little brother's funeral, he runs from the grave site into the forest behind the cemetery, stumbling upon a small clearing just as day is drawing to a close. In the distance, he hears the sunset cannons sound. Dazed, Charlie looks up and is stunned to see Sam, baseball glove in hand, waiting for him to begin the ball practice that is a part of their evening ritual.

Five years go by and Charlie's life has taken a different path than the one about which he dreamed. He's now the caretaker of Seaside Cemetery where Sam is buried, and his sailboat is stored away on blocks. College, friends and family have been abandoned. Every evening at the gloaming hour, just as the cannons sound, Charlie returns to the glade to play catch with Sam. At sunset, Sam vanishes again. Though his brother wants him to move on, Charlie's promise to Sam is all that matters anymore.

But when his high-school classmate Tess (Amanda Crew) returns home unexpectedly, Charlie grows torn between honoring the promise he made years earlier and moving forward with newfound love. And as he finds the courage to let go of the past for good, Charlie discovers the soul most worth saving is his own.

Charlie St. Cloud is based on the acclaimed novel by Ben Sherwood, The Life and Death of Charlie St. Cloud. The movie was filmed in picturesque British Columbia and will hit screens across North America on July 30. You can catch the Charlie St. Cloud trailer right here.