Film Review: Charlotte Gray

Director: Gillian Armstrong

Based on the book of the same name by acclaimed writer Sebastian Faulks, Charlotte Gray is a tale of the exploits of female special operatives during the second world war who were taken to occupied France to help the French resistance against the Nazis. The film was a big failure for Film Four who financed the project and lost a lot of money due to poor box office sales, they even had to restructure the production teams to cope with the loss.

Charlotte Gray (Cate Blanchett) is convinced to help the war effort after meeting a man on a train who learns that she is fluent in French. Despite warnings from her new lover Peter (Rupert Penry-Jones) she joins the special ops to help the French resistance in a small town called Lezignac in the free zone. There she meets Julien (Billy Crudup) who leads the resistance but is also a communist and she also becomes close to Levade (Michael Gambon), Julien's father, and two Jewish children whose parents have been taken away.

Julien (Billy Crudup) with Charlotte Gray (Cate Blanchett)

The film was generally panned by critics but I have to say I found it an intriguing and tense drama as the Nazi's slowly tighten the net around the French resistance in their small town. Cate Blanchett is a delight to watch in the lead role, despite one or two problems which Ill mention below, and Michael Gambon is the other star man playing his classic role as a grumpy old man. The underhanded nature of the town at the time is what struck a chord with me most throughout the whole film.

There are a few initial problems that come to light with Charlotte Gray, Cate Blanchett's Scottish accent is capable but isn't always present when it should be as she lulls back into her normal accent. This is a minor detail compared to everyone in France speaking English even though the Germans and French sometimes converse in French to one another, once you get past this flaw you see an absorbing and enjoyable war time drama.

3/4 Absorbing drama shows a different war fought in France