Charlotte Gray: The Movie

Charlotte Gray, 2001, Starring Cate Blanchett and directed by Gillian Armstrong.

I really enjoyed this when I saw it for the first time, although my opinion was a little tarnished after I read the Novel (See previous post).

The movie is dramatic and action packed, with Charlotte taking part in important Resistance activities with Octave and friends. I found the scene where the group is mown down by the Nazis to be deeply moving, and was surprised that Charlotte was not involved in these Resistance activities in the Novel, nor was the group mown down - merely interrogated. I considered the movie Charlotte a bit of a liability for her annoying attempts to track down her airman, especially when she stops her first contact (the lady in the cafe) to ask for information and ends up stalling her for long enough that the Nazis take her away. Charlotte later finds out that the woman has been shot, and it is essentially Charlotte's fault. I guess I sort of had a romanticised picture of the women who fought for the resistance, and was surprised, both in the novel and the movie, when Charlotte was pretty ordinary and prone to depression.

I won't spoil the plot for anyone, but I loved Julien (Octave), and the final scene of the movie was a real highlight for me.

So although I found the movie disappointing to watch after I had read the Novel, I originally found it enthralling. The costuming and setting were great, the music was lovely, and Andre and Jacob were so sweet. As I said before, I had to watch the movie after finishing the book so that things could be 'right' in my head, but I think that they complement each other well. You find out more about the boys and Levade in the Novel, and about Charlotte's strange relationship with her father, however the movie was great for its action, and its Julien! The only thing that I really did not like about this movie, which was a huge stumbling block at first, was that everyone in "France" spoke English, and with British accents. I was so confused by this, and really felt that it spoiled a great movie. Adam suggested that it was to maintain continuity - as either everyone would have had to speak English with cheesy French accents (pretty confusing - are they speaking English with French accents, or are they French?) or to have them speak in French, but with subtitles (For an hour? How un-Hollywood) or simply have everyone speak in English, and just pretend it is French (odd, but does the job). After I had thought about it, it was a lot easier to enjoy the movie.

So apart from minor details with a slightly dopey Lead character, and odd portrayal of French speakers, I enjoyed it and totally recommend it.