The Truth About Charlie (2002)

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Writers (WGA):

Peter Stone (1963 screenplay Charade)
Jonathan Demme (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 October 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A young woman in Paris is about to divorce her husband when she discovers... he's dead; and all their money is gone...

Plot Keywords:

Divorce | Diamond | Stamp Collecting | Bathroom | Fleamarket

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Olga Sékulic	...	Junior Military Officer
Stephen Dillane	...	Charlie
Françoise Bertin	...	Woman on Train
Thandie Newton	...	Regina Lambert
Cassius Kumar Wilkinson	...	Hercules
Sakina Jaffrey	...	Sylvia
Mark Wahlberg	...	Joshua Peters
Christine Boisson	...	Commandant Dominique
Simon Abkarian	...	Lieutenant Dessalines
Christophe Salengro	...	Morgue Attendant
Philippe Fretun	...	Evidence Handler
Loïza Jacq	...	Evidence Handler (as Loeïza Jacq)
Joong-Hoon Park	...	Il-Sang Lee
Lisa Gay Hamilton	...	Lola Jansco
Ted Levine	...	Emil Zadapec

Also Known As:

Die Wahrheit über Charlie (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence and sexual content/nudity.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | French | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Finland:K-11 | Netherlands:6 | Canada:PG | France:U | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:7 | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 | Australia:M | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Cimetière de Montmarte, Paris 18, Paris, France

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The movie contains numerous connections to French New Wave films. Reference is made to Tirez sur le pianiste (1960) and its star, Charles Aznavour, has a singing role at the end of this movie. Anna Karina, featured in several Jean-Luc Godard films, has a bit part.

Goofs:

Continuity: When in the restaurant, Regina and "Alex" kiss, her head is tilted to her right and his to his right, a split second later, her head is tilted to her left and his to his left, they did not have enough time to change.

Quotes:

Cmndt. Dominique: We took the liberty of calling your tailor. We thought perhaps we would learn something.
Regina Lambert: Did you?
Cmndt. Dominique: Yes. Your dress is ready.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ancient Evil 2: Guardian of the Underworld (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Stealth and Rhythm

There Was No Point In Making This

This was strange. I had no idea what this film was about as it was a free loan and I just put in the machine, not even reading the back of the box. Well, obviously it didn't take long to figure out this was a re-make of the famous 1963 film "Charade."

It's not really bad on it's own but if you've watched and admired Charade a half dozen times as I have, this film isn't even close measuring up. Mark Wahlberg is no Cary Grant; Thandie Newton is no Audry Hepburn and Tim Robbins in no Walter Matthau.

Why settle for second-rate after having first-rate? I mean, why even bother? It's not like you are updating some old black-and-white movie to accommodate today's crowd which won't look at B&W. The original still looks good (on the Criterion DVD).