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Charlotte Gray

2001, Movie, PG-13, 121 mins

Charlotte Gray: Review

CHARLOTTE GRAY
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Turning Sebastian Faulks's richly detailed novel into a film would have challenged any filmmaker: His tale of one woman's self-discovery during the darkest days of WWII is filled with the kind of psychological depth and historical background that isn't easily transferred to the screen. Director Gillian Armstrong may not have been able to retain a lot of what made the novel such a rewarding experience, but she fashioned the basic plot into an old-fashioned, if slightly glammed-up, wartime melodrama. At the height of the London Blitz, young Charlotte Gray (Cate Blanchett) leaves her native town of St. Andrews, Scotland, for bombed-out London; she's not quite sure what she's going to do once she gets there, but she knows she must do something. En route, Charlotte meets Richard Cannerley (James Fleet), a civil servant who notices that she's reading Stendhal in the original French and urges her to contact him once she's settled. He also invites her to a party, where Charlotte meets Peter Gregory (Rupert Penry-Jones), an RAF pilot on leave. After a few idyllic nights in each other's arms, Peter breaks the inevitable bad news: He's leaving the following day for a hush-hush mission somewhere over France. Inspired by Peter's bravery, Charlotte calls on Cannerley and soon finds herself training to serve as a courier for the SOE, a top-secret organization involved in covert operations and sabotage. Charlotte's determination to serve as an undercover operative in France is only strengthened by the news that Peter's plane has vanished somewhere over the Free Zone. And so blond Charlotte is transformed into a dark-haired Frenchwoman named Dominique, and dropped into the picturesque village of Lezignac, deep in heart of Vichy France. There she's met by members of a local Resistance network, including handsome architect Julien Levade (Billy Crudup), who puts "Dominique" to work in the decaying chateau owned by his gruff father (Michael Gambon). While searching for information about Peter's fate, Charlotte is drawn deep into clandestine Resistance activities and, ultimately, romance. Had it been made at the height of WWII, this handsomely shot melodrama might have starred Greer Garson. Instead, Armstrong is fortunate to have the luminous Blanchett, who, along with her equally fine supporting cast, helps compensate for what the film lacks: Faulks's indictment of the Vichy government's eagerness to accommodate the Nazis, particularly when it came to the Jewish Question, as well as Britain's ulterior motives for assisting the French Resistance movement. leave a comment --Ken Fox
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