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...

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Peter Stone, the writer of Charade (1963) (the basis for the movie) was so against this remake, that in some releases of this movie, his screenwriting credit was changed to Peter Joshua, the name of Cary Grant's character in Charade.

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Goofs

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.

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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!

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Crazy Credits

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

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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.

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Connections

Spoofs The Bride Wore Black (1968)

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Soundtracks

Le Malade Imaginaire
Written by Silver Johnson, Cedric Belise, Khalid Dehbi, Samuel Adebiyi, Fabien Philetas, Gerard Nubul, Georges Jeannot, Arnaud Codet and Mehdi Felicite
Performed by Saïan Supa Crew
Courtesy of Source/Virgin France, S.A.
By Arrangement with Virgin Records America, Inc.

User Reviews

"If it ain't broke..."

OK, so I didn't waste eight bucks at the box office, nor did I spend four bucks at Blockbuster; luckily, I had credit at Netflix.com so I didn't spend a dime to see this latest of Hollywood remakes. Apparently very few screenwriters can come up with original ideas, so we wind up with a new version of an old favorite month after month. I hope that Mr. Demme is out of rehab by now, because he must've been on some kind of delusional trip when he got the idea to remake a classic. I've read all the reviews posted here at IMDB, and for the life of me I cannot see the rants and raves for Thandie Newton. Poor child, why didn't her mother tell her NOT to attempt to recreate an Audrey Hepburn role? She has about as much cinematic charisma as a pile of sawdust. Early in the movie when she's standing between the French Commandant and the Lieutenant, Ms. Newton completely disappears. I was watching the Lt. more than the star of the picture. Seeing the extras on the DVD, Mr. Demme proclaimed he was looking for the right vehicle for Ms. Newton's talent (or did he have more prurient interests in her off camera?). The worst scene was the gunpoint standoff which I found myself looking at my watch, wondering how long could this go on? I've always been a huge fan of Tim Robbins, but what in heaven's name, was the accent he was trying to use? I can't blame Mark Wahlberg, he chomped at the bit to play a romantic lead. Damn! Had he never seen the original film and realized whom he would be compared to? This was truly sad. There's no reason to continue tearing this piece of schlock frame by frame, but the closing credits??? Mr. Demme chose to dedicate this to his late brother...who's surely rolling over in his grave from this. Ms. Portman's music even had to use the Mancini theme to compensate for her lack of originality. Then, I wouldn't have believed this if I hadn't seen it...someone at Universal Pictures had the gall to put the original "Charade" on the flip side of the "Charlie" DVD. Stupidity? Insanity? Audacity? There is NO word for it! God! What a mess!!!

Details

Official Sites:

Universal

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English French Arabic

Release Date:

25 October 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Truth About 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

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:

2.39 : 1