Charlotte Gray (DVD)

When Charlotte Gray meets and falls in love with a young airman, Peter, she should have her entire life to look forward to. However, it is World War 2 and her fiance very soon goes to France on a mission and goes missing. Determined not to give up hope, Charlotte applies for the Secret Service and is sent to France herself; ostensibly to help the war effort, but also to try and find out what has happened to Peter. Will her personal feelings get in ...
...Cate Blanchett was great as Charlotte Gray. She has a gentle, ethereal beauty that lends itself perfectly to this sort of role - a brave, but nevertheless human, woman in love. I liked the way that her character was shown to be infallible - all too often stories about the war concentrate on the bravery, but don't show the fear behind it all - yet Charlotte is clearly scared out of her wits at times. She is supposed to be Scottish, and speaks with ... more

When Charlotte Gray meets and falls in love with a young airman, Peter, she should have her entire life to look forward to. However, it is World War 2 and her fiance very soon goes to France on a mission and goes missing. Determined not to give up hope, Charlotte applies for the Secret Service and is sent to France herself; ostensibly to help the war effort, but also to try and find out what has happened to Peter. Will her personal feelings get in the way of her job, putting her colleagues lives at risk? And will she find Peter?

Knowing that this film is based on the book of the same name by Sebastian Faulks should have encouraged me to watch this film sooner, but somehow, I have never been able to bring myself to watch it until now. I think it is partly because war stories depress me and I need to be in the right frame of mind for them, but also because the reviews of the film that I have read haven't been particularly positive. Having now watched the film, I think it is true to say that it is not without its faults; however, neither is it it the debacle that some have made it out to be.

I thought Cate Blanchett was great as Charlotte Gray. She has a gentle, ethereal beauty that lends itself perfectly to this sort of role - a brave, but nevertheless human, woman in love. I liked the way that her character was shown to be infallible - all too often stories about the war concentrate on the bravery, but don't show the fear behind it all - yet Charlotte is clearly scared out of her wits at times. She is supposed to be Scottish, and speaks with a passable Scottish accent at the beginning of the film, although it took me a while to realise she was supposed to be Scottish. When she moves to France, she changes her accent, to (I think it is supposed to be) a neutral accent, but to be honest, she speaks in such a soft way that it is difficult to hear at times what it is supposed to be.

Charlotte's fiance, Peter, only appears in the film briefly, but is adequately played by Rupert Penry-Jones. Julien, Charlotte's main contact in France, is well played by Billy Crudup. He seemed very tightly controlled to begin with, but as the film progresses and he really lets his emotions fly, he begins to show what he is made of and gives a highly credible performance. Michael Gambon (of Dumbledore fame) plays Julien's father, providing a welcome shoulder for Charlotte to cry on. Although not a pivotal performance, I thought it was a strong one. James Fleet (Vicar of Dibley) and Jack Shepherd (Wycliffe) also make brief appearances.

What most attracted me to the film is the setting. The parts in France are filmed in and around St Antonin, a small market town in the Midi-Pyrenees, a town that I have visited several times and absolutely love for its pretty bleakness on the side of a river. It fits the film beautifully. The buildings are grey/beige in colour and can seem quite imposing, particularly when considering what is going on; yet there is enough human life and colour to tinge the film with the hope that is needed to get through it.

The film has been much criticised for its blandness. This is a film about ordinary human lives and, although there are some glimpses of bravery, much of the time, the characters are creeping around passing on and receiving messages. As such, I can understand why some people may having found it boring. Personally, I liked this element of the film; it made it seem that much more convincing to me and I enjoyed the story that was being told. Not every war story can be like The Great Escape. However, if you like action films, it is probably best to make a note to keep away unless you're prepared to wait until the bitter end - there are certainly other war films out there that will be a better fit for the action fan.

I do, however, think something could have been done about the accents with which the actors speak. While Charlotte is in France, she and her colleagues speak in English with a slight French accent to show that they are really supposed to be speaking French. However, everyone's accent is different. Michael Gambon more or less gives up on his accent and speaks in English. Cate Blanchett wavers between an English and a French accent. Jack Shepherd starts off with a French accent and then wavers between a German and an English accent. I found all this very confusing; I had just tuned in to one accent when another one came along and, with a combination of lowered voices (as you would expect in a war situation), I found it hard to follow what was being said at times.

I enjoyed the film. I thought Blanchett was excellent and the gentle storyline won me over, despite the difficulties in hearing what was going on at times. I certainly think that it is worth watching, despite the low box office sales - this is a sadly underestimated film that I think will stand the test of time. Recommended.

The DVD is available from play.com for £6.99.

Classification: 15 for some violence, although the body count is low for a war film

Running time: 121 minutes 

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