Charlotte Gray (2001)

Serendipity! This relatively unknown movie -why?- is another compelling showcase of Blanchett's talent. She kept the storyline moving along and engages the audience with her wonderful camera presence. She is believable as our heroine because of her chemistry with both male interests, make resolve with her vulnerabilities, yet still able to be strong as a secret agent should and providing a motherly side, sheltering little ones from harsh truths in dangerous times.

France's beautiful & panoramic countryside was the backdrop during WW2. The clothing, locale and props of the period seem authentic. The actors delivered their parts very well, contributing credibility to the story's basis. Charlotte Gray conveys what people undergo and learn about the world and themselves in dreadfully gripping circumstances.

Realistic, moving, tear-dropping!

Fmovies: Take the drama and intelligent dialogue from the era in which this movie is set (1940s) and play it out with the sophisticated filming techniques and cinematography of today and you might begin to get an idea of how great this movie is.

This film is a love story, loosely based on the real-life heroism of WWII. Those who enjoy such films would not have been disappointed by Charlotte Gray.

Unfortunately, Channel 4 decided to precede the film with the transmission of a documentary about the real-life heroines, whose personal sacrifices, pragmatic courage and strength of character shone out of my TV in a way that had me close to tears. The film, which followed, showed none of the iron self-discipline, the de-sensitising effect of war nor the constant fear of discovery these people lived with, but concerned itself with emotional story lines that would have been at home in any modern love story, loosely based on any social environment you care to choose. Far from blending into the background, along with the oppressed French population, Cate Blanchett was often portrayed parading in high heels and flattering autumnal colours, looking like a million francs

Too frequently for this viewer, it dipped into the downright absurd, e.g. having a) the male lead exposing himself to danger in an astonishing, barking tirade at German troops, b) the collaborationist French schoolteacher volunteering to the goodies that he was a snitch for the Germans and c) Charlotte herself somehow persuading a gendarme not to reveal her whereabouts to his search party colleagues, even when safely out of range of her pistol.

What a wonderful piece of history it was. And what a wonderful film could have been made of it (with the same cast too; the individual performances were all perfectly OK, especially in the minor roles).

Charlotte Gray fmovies. Charlotte Grey is the title character of this movie, set in WW2 Britain and France. Played by the extremely gifted Cate Blanchett, Charlotte is a young Scottish woman who, after having fallen in love with an army pilot, Peter Gregory (Rubert Penry-Jones), decides to participate in the English efforts to help the French resistance. A fluent French-speaker, Charlotte takes on the identity of Dominique, a married Parisienne, who's moved to the Vichy-governed part of France.

As Dominique, Charlotte gets involved with Julian Lavade, his father and two young Jewish boys, whose parents have just been taken away by the Vichy police. She soon realizes how serious the situation is, and that no one is to be trusted. And her courage and determination sees her through.

Cate Blanchett shows yet again what an amazing actress she is, the new Meryl Streep, but with a warmer aura. Watching her on the screen never gets boring, and even though the movie is somewhat slow moving at times, it really left me craving for more. 4 out of 5!

This film held my attention the entire time. The cinematography was absolutely stunning. This is a beautiful film. I was taken in by the beauty that Cate Blanchett and Billy Crudup possess. It wasn't the most exciting cinema ever, but none-the-less it still had it's wonderfully planned moments. Worth a watch!

This film has a genuine feel for the grand old tradition of Hollywood war romances. It's elegantly crafted escapism of the highest order, beautiful to look at, with the added bonus of an intelligent script and great performances all around. As I've seen time and again where poor endings mar otherwise good films, I'm always keen on how the curtain falls. This one had what I felt was a great curtain line that nicely tied in the heroine's odyssey of identity confusion and moral ambiguity in the shadow world of undercover war espionage (a "gray" that was more than just her name) to her eventual discovery of self, strength, and purpose as her true character is slowly forged in the crucible of danger and strife. As war brings out the very worst of qualities in humanity, so too can heightened expressions of bravery, compassion, and loyalty serve to greatly ennoble the human spirit in times of blood and sorrow. The movie does a nice job of highlighting that theme in several of its characters. Cate Blanchett does a wonderful job with the title role and this film is a strong 9 out of 10.