The Truth About Charlie (2002)

A woman returns from holiday to find her husband has been murdered, and several groups of people are pressuring her to unravel the mystery of his true identity and activities during his final days.

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Writers:

Peter Stone (based on the motion picture "Charade" screenplay by), Jonathan Demme (screenplay)

Stars:

Mark Wahlberg, Thandie Newton, Tim Robbins

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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	...	Lewis Bartholamew
Christine Boisson	...	Commandant Dominique
Simon Abkarian	...	Lieutenant Dessalines
Christophe Salengro	...	Morgue Attendant
Philippe Fretun	...	Evidence Handler
Loeïza Jacq	...	Evidence Handler
Joong-Hoon Park	...	Il-Sang Lee
LisaGay Hamilton	...	Lola Jansco
Ted Levine	...	Emil Zadapec

Storyline

A young woman in Paris is about to divorce her husband when she discovers... he's dead; and all their money is gone. She meets a mysterious man, who tells her that the money was really his, and he wants it back, seemingly convinced that she's hiding the cash. Meanwhile, more people end up dead...

---

Plot Keywords:

ex soldier | divorce | death | remake | remake of american film | 

---

Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Universal

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English French Arabic

Release Date:

25 October 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

La verdad sobre Charlie

Filming Locations:

Cimetière de Montmarte, Paris 18, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,270,290, 27 October 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$5,350,371

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,093,284

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures,Mediastream Zweite Film GmbH & Co. Productions KG,Clinica Estetico

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mark Wahlberg considers this to be his worst film.

---

Goofs

Regina and Joshua take a train from Paris' Gare du Nord station, bound for London's Waterloo station. The rail equipment used carries the blue and white TGV livery, the French high-speed line that runs domestically in several directions from Paris. However, only yellow Eurostar trains run from Gare du Nord through the Channel Tunnel to England.

---

Quotes

Lewis Bartholomew: I was wrong about you, Mrs. Lambert. Meeting the widow of a man like Lake, well, I was expecting a siren, a harpy, a shrew. But you, you have decency, dignity, what my father called gumption.
Regina Lambert: I'm very touched. You are actually quite sweet for a stars and bars company man, aren't you?
Lewis Bartholomew: You've discovered my secret side Mrs. Lambert. Keep it under your hat. Boo!

---

Crazy Credits

Just as the reference for Francois Truffaut's "Tirez sur le Pianiste" is shown, a shot of Truffaut's grave is inserted.

---

Alternate Versions

The DVD release in includes several deleted scenes totaling to about eleven minutes. Among them are more of the visit with the Commandant, Regina mistaking a flirtatious man for Joshua, the opening of the mysterious package, and a flashback when Il-Sang, Emil, and Lola are in the army and Emil is playing bluegrass on his guitar.

---

Connections

Referenced in Maltin on Movies: Secretariat (2010)

---

Soundtracks

Epoca
Written by Philippe Cohen-Solal (as Philippe Cohen Solal), Christoph H. Müller,
Eduardo Makaroff
Performed by Gotan Project
Courtesy of ¡Ya Basta! Records

User Reviews

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).