Charlotte Gray (2001)

Director:

Gillian Armstrong

Writers:

Sebastian Faulks (novel)
Jeremy Brock (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 February 2002 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller | War

Tagline:

The story of an ordinary woman in an extraordinary time.

Plot:

A young Scottish woman joins the French Resistance during World War II to rescue her Royal Air Force boyfriend who is lost in France.

Plot Keywords:

French Resistance | French | Scottish | France | First Aid Nursing Yeomanry

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Cate Blanchett	...	Charlotte Gray
James Fleet	...	Richard Cannerly
Abigail Cruttenden	...	Daisy
Charlotte McDougall	...	Sally
Rupert Penry-Jones	...	Peter Gregory (as Rupert Penry Jones)
Robert Hands	...	Borowski
Tom Goodman-Hill	...	Business Man at Party
Michael Fitzgerald	...	Business Man at Party
Hugh Ross	...	Psychiatrist
Martin Oldfield	...	Assault Course Instructor
Nicholas Farrell	...	Mr. Jackson
Mike Burnside	...	Morse Code Instructor
Damian Myerscough	...	Gun Instructor
Miranda Bell	...	Female Instructor
Angus Wright	...	Agent

Also Known As:

Die Liebe der Charlotte Gray (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some war related violence, sensuality and brief strong language.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

UK | Australia | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 | Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | Canada:A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

France

Company:

Ecosse Films

Trivia:

The schoolteacher played by Anton Lesser was called "Benech" in the novel, but the small French town in which much of the movie was based had a popular mayor whose name was similar, so officials asked that the name be changed. He's called "Renech" in the final version.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In some shots of the departing deportation train, it can clearly be seen that the goods wagons used bear the inscription "UIC St" and a rather long wagon number. Both things belong to the international UIC numbering system, not introduced before 1965.

Quotes:

Psychiatrist: Of these three, which in your view is the most important: Faith, hope or love?
Charlotte Gray: Hope.

Movie Connections:

References I Walked with a Zombie (1943)

Soundtrack:

La Java Bleue

Underrated war movie

Charlotte Gray was something of a box-office disaster in the States, which damaged its reputation in the rest of the world. While it's not hard to see why American audiences didn't go for it, it's harder to understand the malice European critics greeted it with. It's a pretty good portrait of resistance infighting (the Communists are setup by the De Gaullists as liberation approaches), local collaboration (the schoolteacher gladly helps the Nazis root out Jewish families) and the nuts and bolts of resistance work. No great heroics or big setpieces, which is probably why it tanked: the big climax is more an emotional risk than the rescue audiences probably wanted. Performances are mostly good - Blanchett is much better than contemporary reviews would have you believe in particular. There are better films, but it's a good movie and for my money better than the alright Lucie Aubrac. I liked it enough to buy the DVD.