Rating: 
Summary: Flawed, but has good points
Review: I watched this movie because it had Cate Blanchett and the French Resistance, two things I like. You would think a film with this subject matter would evoke solemn feelings and a great tension considering the danger at hand, but unfortunately, like Charlotte herself I imagine, I forgot all of that and my brain turned to mush whenever Julien (Billy Crudup) came on screen. This movie had lots of cliches and things that didn't make sense. As other reviewers have said, her mission in France was never clear. Oh well. The story did play up the good old save the Jews, reek occaissionally of Pearl Harbor (*puke*) had the [worst] ending, and did no justice to the absolute courage of the Resistance or bother to explain what motivated some French people to collaborate. But I don't think the film was out to explain the merits of the Resistance, the sentiments of the occupied French people, the workings of the British operations or anything better left to seperate films. The film, like "Dominique", had no view on these things, just accepted they were there. And they were. The most interesting thing in the film is Charlotte's relationship with Julien. It's for the most part unspoken, just an underlying tension, but its well done and makes a fabulous show right in front of the Germans! haha It's also a great contrast to her relationship with the English pilot, which is quick and passionate and points out so clearly how little she knew this man, and herself. It's a selfish relationship with the two of them absorbed in their passion for each other. Her relationship with Julien is unselfish, they become close helping others - the Jewish children, his father, the Resistance. I'm going to defend this movie despite its flaws because I like this message, and am usually annoyed by the films where romance overshadows the historical tragedies like Titanic and Pearl Harbor. I'm sure this film knows there are better films out there to deal with the historical aspects, but for me it functioned as decent human interaction (until the stupid ending, that is) and beautiful scenery. And, dare I be so shallow, Julien was hot right there, on the floor, in front of the Nazis.
Rating: 
Summary: Certainly way above average...
Review: i will give this 4.8 stars-which i know comes off as 5...but I cannot underrstand the squabbles about this film-perhaps some view it as a 'chick flick'-and thus degrade it in their asessments. Cate is astonishingly wonderful, Bully is great, the man who played his father was great. The scenery, and photography were gorgeous.
Rating:
Summary: Her name is Charlotte Gray.
Review: Magnificent throwback to the great espionage / romance movies of the Second World War. It begins briskly: young Scotswoman Charlotte Gray (Cate Blanchett) is riding in a train headed for London, reading Stendahl in the original French. Suddenly her compartment is invaded by a "civil servant" -- of the type characteristic in the novels of Graham Greene -- whose "cheerio", "Right, then!" manner doesn't obscure his knowing, nosy, calculated-for-effect questioning of the young woman. (He instantly takes note that she's fluent in French.) Miss Grey is not any more fooled than we are. The man leaves her an RSVP card for a "book launch" in London, and Charlotte, DYING for adventure, takes him up on it, suspecting that it's an invitation for something a little more important than bookchat. Of course she's proven right . . . and finds her destiny in one night, meeting a lover (an RAF pilot on leave) while putting her toe in the doorjamb of the Special Operations Executive (S.O.E.). The movie's set-up is superbly free of expository nonsense. She falls in love with her pilot and loses him (he's M.I.A. in Vichy) in the space of five minutes, and before you know it, she's training at the S.O.E. and free-falling via parachute into enemy territory. Ostensibly Charlotte is a courier and intelligence operative whose mission is to assist the local French Resistance, but her personal motivation is to search for her missing fly-boy. Another director might have taken an hour to arrive at this juncture, but Gillian Anderson is not interested in the boring stuff. She's interested in character. She's interested in her heroine's self-discovery, and finds it especially interesting that the heroine achieves self-discovery while pretending to be somebody else. Anderson is also interested in sacrifices, choices, and the consequences of each. It's all pretty heady stuff, which has apparently sailed over the heads of most of the reviewers here. I'm dumbfounded by the disdain from the female reviewers with regards to *Charlotte Gray*, a truly feminist movie if there ever was one. The editorial review (by a female) grouses about how the French speak English while the Germans speak German. That's insipid criticism: was she equally harsh on *Schindler's List*, a movie in which we have to endure laughable German accents from Messrs. Neeson and Fiennes while they speak ENGLISH? I doubt it. But hey, *Charlotte Gray* didn't make a lot of money, didn't win awards, isn't "taught" in high schools, so it must be bad. Another female reviewer (a Top 50 Reviewer, no less), complained about Ms. Blanchett's "perfect lipstick" throughout. The nature of these critical remarks reveals a good deal about their authors' intellectual capacity. You be the judge. But it's only fair to point out that this movie IS old-fashioned, after all: perhaps Julia Roberts' foul-mouthed Erin Brockovich suits the more cosmopolitan taste of today's gentler sex. -- Speaking of gentler sex . . . Cate Blanchett is ENTHRALLING. Fiercely intelligent, feminine, lovely, and tough as a mountain. What an amazing actress!
Rating: 
Summary: More than a "Chick Flick"
Review: Men will be surprised that this movie does work even though it is a love story set during WWII. It is one of the only films that realitically describes the French resistance as well as the Nazi collaborators roles during this time. The 3 main character performances were wonderful. Saw it 3 times and each time find something more to like about it.
Rating:
Summary: Even perfect lipstick couldn't give this film sparkle
Review: Starring Cate Blanchett as a young Scottish woman who joins the French resistance during WW2, this should have been a good film. But someone made the ridiculous decision to have her speak English the entire time, even though there is a big deal made about how her character speaks fluent French. Immediately I was turned off as I've learned to expect at least this basic degree of authenticity in films. I must say though that the cinematography was wonderful; it brought me right into war-torn France. I even learned a little bit about what it must have been like to live under the German occupation. But the lead character's love of a British pilot that brings her to France in the first place, and her relationship with a French resistance fighter, played by Billy Crudup, just didn't sparkle. And I've seen similar films about Nazi cruelty and Jewish deportation before. Ms. Blanchett is pretty; and her wardrobe seemed authentic for the period. But her lipstick was just a little too perfect and detracted from any emotion in her face. There was plenty of tension throughout but I was not emotionally moved.
Rating:
Summary: Charlotte Gray
Review: There are numerous movies about the soldier, Jewish, and American points of view on WWII, but there are hardly any describing the ordinary civilians' point of view, the civilians in Europe anyway, and what it was like for those whose lives and homes were invaded. It shows ordinary people doing extraordinary things, such as leaving the comfort of home, jumping out of planes, blowing things up, etc. In all the hubub of the Jewish plight and the brave soldiers, one tends to forget about the silent heroes, the resistance groups, those who hid complete strangers from the Nazis, and the French officers who fudged Nazi law to help their countrymen (which by the way, is not just a movie twist). On a sentimental note, it was excellent that she went back to France instead of getting back together with the pilot; the French guy was SOOOOOOO much cuter. The only disappointment I found was not knowing what happened to the father and the kids. (Sorry to ruin the movie for those who haven't seen it.)Who cares if everything in the movies isn't perfect or by the book, movies are for entertainment, and this fulfilled its purpose with flying colors.
Rating:
Summary: Movie of the Decade
Review: This film contains one of the most memorable performances by any actor of any time. Cate Blanchett puts an absolutely immaculate performance together with strong performances by a supporting cast. She plays an English woman who goes to France as a spy in hopes of finding her love who was a member of the British RAF. His plane went down in France and no one is able to tell her if he is dead or alive. What she finds in France is a completely different world. As soon as Charlotte arrives in France she faces the tragedy that comes with being a spy. Instead of retreating in fear, she presses on clinging to the hope of finding her love safe in France. She ultimately becomes much more involved with her new life and identity in France. She is involved in attacks on German forces, the hiding of Jewish children, and many other dangerous missions. In the process she falls in love with another man. This movie is paced very well. Each scene flows directly into the next. Cate Blanchett will ensnare you with the tremendous bravery exhibited in the character of Charlotte Gray. This movie was overlooked at the Academy Awards. It is one of my all-time favorite films. Accompanied by a haunting score, Charlotte Gray will be a movie you will never forget.
Rating:
Summary: Visually stunning but weak story
Review: This film is not that strong though it has some strong points. The strongest being Cate Blanchett and the lush and splendid cinematography. Those two strong points are blended to great effect as Cate Blanchett's extraordinary beauty is presented against several breathtaking backdrops. Cate Blanchett conveys a very rich poetic substance which makes everything else around her seem prosaic and that is the problem with this film, everything except Cate Blanchett and the beautiful landscape seems prosaic. The supporting cast is not bad but they just do not compare with that central actress. The male actors who play Cates respective lovers seem to have been chosen for their profiles moreso than for their acting talent as neither are any kind of match for Cate so we don't believe she would look twice at either of these men she is supposed to be in love with. There is one other actor in the movie that is good and thats the grandfather but his character remains merely a background figure. The story is also a little unlikely. Sending a young girl with no discernible talents except her ability to speak French into a dangerous situation without any real task to perform seemed ridiculous. The whole time she is in France I was trying to figure out what her mission really was but could not figure it out.
Visually this movie will entertain you and Cate amid those great backgrounds will please your eyes and poetic sense as a painting would but the various elements of this story just didn't ever come together.
Rating:
Summary: The film is sumptuous but it lacks personality !
Review: This is a crude story filled with ambitious and fineness handle camera . The photography is exquisite , the arresting images : specially this turn around the train is unforgettable but the entire script doesn't have punch . It is well told but you feel the absence of greatness . May be is the stylish documentary storytelling and the not succesfully developed sense of the drama what it strikes the film . But Gillian Armstring knows as all of we there are been so many stories about the tragedies of the war where the sense of heroism , betrayal, fatality and injustice are fundamental factors of the war . In that sense Armstrong focuses her attention much more in the dramatis personae experienced by Charlotte Gray that in the environment which surrounds her .
The Gray chase in the house lacks credibility . Do you really expect it is so easy to get out and escape from the Gestapo with a simple gun ? .
The dramatic device employed for Armstrong when the train is leaving and her efforts for writting a letter seem a filled tear handkerchief thrown to the great audience .
But the splendid perfomance of Cate Blanchet (one of the best twelve actress in the world to date) and a worthable cast saves the film being a positive point .
One of the most emblematic paradoxs in the film is you can find your expected love in the middle of the hell.
The most remarkable acting after Blanchet is obviously Billy Crudup as Julien Lavarde .
But the film will not remain in your memory . You and me will forget very soon . And that it may be a weakness syntom of the film itself.
Rating:
Summary: Well played and underrated
Review: This movie seems to get a bad rap for strange reasons. I had no problem whatsoever with the accents, nor did I think Cate Blanchett's wardrobe was overly nice for wartime. (It was the FORTIES, and anyway, she's in muddy clothes for most of the film.) My one and only complaint is that we get a clearer sense of Charlotte as Dominique than of Charlotte as Charlotte. Things seem to progress a little too quickly early in the film, so that we don't know enough about who this girl was before she fell in love and started diving out of planes and blowing up Nazis. (This would help make the ending a tad more powerful.) Other than that--well played by all, very enjoyable, visually stunning, and as for the raging debate on accents, I'd like to say this: as Gillian Armstrong points out in the commentary, it's better to have British people with shallow accents than French people with accents so thick you can't understand them; Cate Blanchett was willing to do two-thirds of the film in French, but Armstrong feared criticism that her French wouldn't be perfect; and, as for those German-speaking Germans, they're foreigners taking over a foreign land. The fact that they're not speaking the language of the audience or the language of the townspeople makes them seem more alien and menacing. Do we desperately need to know exactly what they're saying? No, because you can figure out that they're not saying much beyond, "Get zem into ze truck" or "Stop making out on ze floor, Frenchies!" So sit back and enjoy.
|
