Charlotte Gray Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)January 29th, 2002
CHARLOTTE GRAY
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2002 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): **
CHARLOTTE GRAY, by director Gillian Armstrong (OSCAR AND LUCINDA) and screenwriter Jeremy Brock (MRS. BROWN), stars Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup and Michael Gambon. With a cast and crew this talented, it's hard for the movie to go wrong. But go wrong it does, as each of the stars delivers what might charitably be called one of their least remarkable performances.
The story, based on the novel by Sebastian Faulks, concerns a Scottish woman named Charlotte Gray (Blanchett), a "courier," in other words, a spy. Charlotte, as Dominique, is sent behind enemy lines in France during World War II. Part of her motivation for volunteering for the dangerous assignment is to locate her new boyfriend, a pilot who recently crash landed in France. Billy Crudup plays Julien, Charlotte's communist contact in the French resistance, and Michael Gambon plays Julien's father, a French veteran of The Great War.
Although the director perfunctorily covers all of the standard bases, the movie has few compelling moments, and easy to stage episodes end up feeling needlessly false. Typical of these is Charlotte's spy training before she leaves for France. As her teacher lectures his room of would-be spies, he always holds a big fluffy white dog that must weigh 40 pounds. The accents are another problem. Some actors, like Crudup, take great care to speak with French accents, while others, like Gambon, stick to English accents. What are we to understand by this? Julien's father is less French than Julien himself?
This much is certain. The French countryside is lovely. Filled with rustic stone cottages, large green pastures and wide meandering rivers, the movie manages to make the scenery look absolutely gorgeous, which is not exactly difficult. Only as a travelogue is the picture particularly successful.
CHARLOTTE GRAY runs 2:01. It is rated PG-13 for "some war related violence, sensuality and brief strong language" and would be acceptable for kids around 10 and up.
The film is playing in nationwide release now in the United States. In the Silicon Valley, it is showing at the AMC theaters.
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