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Charlotte Gray
Warner Bros. // PG-13 // July 9, 2002
List Price: $26.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
"Charlotte Gray" is the second independent spy thriller that I've viewed this year. The other, director Michael Apted's "Enigma", provides an interesting comparison. Gillian Armstrong's "Gray" certainly has aspects that are remarkable: Cate Blanchett, quietly but quickly proving herself to be one of the great actresses working today, provides a fine performance in the lead. The film's imagery is often so striking that I was often impressed with compositions, lighting and set design. However, director Gillian Armstrong moves the film along at such a sleep-inducing pace that fine actors attempting to make something out of a less-than-ideal screenplay are wasted.
"Charlotte Gray" stars Blanchett as, well...Charlotte Gray. Gray is a Scottish woman who attempts to be a "courier" (read: spy) in World War II. Dropped into France and posing as "Dominique", she attempts to find her lost boyfriend - who was an RAF pilot. Although she's supposed to be a spy assisting others, she's essentially there to help herself and find a romance that doesn't seem that deep or developed in the first place. Of course, this being a mixture of thriller, melodrama and romance, there's going to be another character who Charlotte finds an interest in - namely, her contact, Julian (another great actor, Billy Crudup, also given little to do here).
Apted's thriller, propelled by wonderfully sharp performances (especially Kate Winslet, whose effort is one of her recent best) and a terrific screenplay by "Shakespeare In Love"'s Tom Stoppard, involved me heavily because the characters were so wonderfully developed and the dialogue was intelligent and very witty at times. As a result, "Enigma" was able to mine a remarkable amount of tension from scenes such as two characters trying to crack codes in a barn while their persuers are struggling to drive their car down the muddy road leading to the place. Essentially, Apted created one of the most involving low-speed car chases I've ever seen.
But, unfortunately, back to "Charlotte Gray". Blanchett, such a wonderful actress with such enormous range, is obviously stuck in the middle of an impossible mission. Her character is not only not particularly well-developed, but not particularly interesting or even really needed: she seems to have little success as a spy, mostly going along on missions that she doesn't contribute much to. Attempts at romance in the film fail simply because they are both rushed and unconvincing, especially the early romance with the RAF pilot.
"Charlotte Gray" has a world of potential - a female spy story with great actors and a director who has previously shown herself to be capable of solid drama. However, the film fails in several regards - a dull screenplay full of cliches, performances that aren't emotional enough and most noticably, pacing that's just short of full-stop. A definite disapointment.
The DVD
VIDEO: As I mentioned before, "Charlotte Gray" is a beautiful looking picture, complete with impressive cinematography and stunning locations. Warner Brothers has provided a presentation that, while not completely free of faults, has quite a few strengths. Sharpness and detail, while not entirely consistent, are often exceptional - the picture often displays impressive fine details and depth to the image.
Flaws are few-and-far-between, but some are still noticable on occasion: a few little instances of edge enhancement were present, but hardly made for that much of a distraction. Print flaws were equally minimal - a little bit of grain here, a speck there, nothing more. No pixelation or any other faults were spotted.
The film's color palette varies from crisp, cool tones to some warmer, richer colors. The DVD presents all of them well, as colors appeared accurate and well-saturated, only rarely appearing a little smeared. A pretty solid presentation.
SOUND: "Charlotte Gray" is presented by Warner Brothers in Dolby Digital 5.1. The audio is fairly enjoyable, as the surrounds are used moderately well to provide some ambience and a few sound effects. Audio quality is fine, as dialogue and other elements remained clear.
MENUS: Basic, non-animated menus.
EXTRAS: Director Gillian Armstrong provides a commentary for the DVD. The commentary, although a bit spotty at points, does provides a fairly enjoyable discussion of the production. Armstrong mainly discusses stories from the set, mixing up chat about the story and characters with some technical comments. I didn't find the commentary to be terribly interesting, but I did like hearing what Armstrong was attempting with the film, even if I didn't enjoy it.
Also: A couple of very brief featurettes, "A Village Revisits History" and "Living Through Wartime" are included, as is the trailer.
Final Thoughts: Even with the presence of terrific actors, "Charlotte Gray" still does not manage to be very involving or suspenseful at all. Warner Brothers has provided a nice DVD, with excellent image quality and fine audio, along with a few supplements. Some may find this a decent rental, but I'd recommend "Enigma" (out 9/24) for those seeking a superior spy tale.
"Charlotte Gray" is the second independent spy thriller that I've viewed this year. The other, director Michael Apted's "Enigma", provides an interesting comparison. Gillian Armstrong's "Gray" certainly has aspects that are remarkable: Cate Blanchett, quietly but quickly proving herself to be one of the great actresses working today, provides a fine performance in the lead. The film's imagery is often so striking that I was often impressed with compositions, lighting and set design. However, director Gillian Armstrong moves the film along at such a sleep-inducing pace that fine actors attempting to make something out of a less-than-ideal screenplay are wasted.
"Charlotte Gray" stars Blanchett as, well...Charlotte Gray. Gray is a Scottish woman who attempts to be a "courier" (read: spy) in World War II. Dropped into France and posing as "Dominique", she attempts to find her lost boyfriend - who was an RAF pilot. Although she's supposed to be a spy assisting others, she's essentially there to help herself and find a romance that doesn't seem that deep or developed in the first place. Of course, this being a mixture of thriller, melodrama and romance, there's going to be another character who Charlotte finds an interest in - namely, her contact, Julian (another great actor, Billy Crudup, also given little to do here).
Apted's thriller, propelled by wonderfully sharp performances (especially Kate Winslet, whose effort is one of her recent best) and a terrific screenplay by "Shakespeare In Love"'s Tom Stoppard, involved me heavily because the characters were so wonderfully developed and the dialogue was intelligent and very witty at times. As a result, "Enigma" was able to mine a remarkable amount of tension from scenes such as two characters trying to crack codes in a barn while their persuers are struggling to drive their car down the muddy road leading to the place. Essentially, Apted created one of the most involving low-speed car chases I've ever seen.
But, unfortunately, back to "Charlotte Gray". Blanchett, such a wonderful actress with such enormous range, is obviously stuck in the middle of an impossible mission. Her character is not only not particularly well-developed, but not particularly interesting or even really needed: she seems to have little success as a spy, mostly going along on missions that she doesn't contribute much to. Attempts at romance in the film fail simply because they are both rushed and unconvincing, especially the early romance with the RAF pilot.
"Charlotte Gray" has a world of potential - a female spy story with great actors and a director who has previously shown herself to be capable of solid drama. However, the film fails in several regards - a dull screenplay full of cliches, performances that aren't emotional enough and most noticably, pacing that's just short of full-stop. A definite disapointment.
The DVD
VIDEO: As I mentioned before, "Charlotte Gray" is a beautiful looking picture, complete with impressive cinematography and stunning locations. Warner Brothers has provided a presentation that, while not completely free of faults, has quite a few strengths. Sharpness and detail, while not entirely consistent, are often exceptional - the picture often displays impressive fine details and depth to the image.
Flaws are few-and-far-between, but some are still noticable on occasion: a few little instances of edge enhancement were present, but hardly made for that much of a distraction. Print flaws were equally minimal - a little bit of grain here, a speck there, nothing more. No pixelation or any other faults were spotted.
The film's color palette varies from crisp, cool tones to some warmer, richer colors. The DVD presents all of them well, as colors appeared accurate and well-saturated, only rarely appearing a little smeared. A pretty solid presentation.
SOUND: "Charlotte Gray" is presented by Warner Brothers in Dolby Digital 5.1. The audio is fairly enjoyable, as the surrounds are used moderately well to provide some ambience and a few sound effects. Audio quality is fine, as dialogue and other elements remained clear.
MENUS: Basic, non-animated menus.
EXTRAS: Director Gillian Armstrong provides a commentary for the DVD. The commentary, although a bit spotty at points, does provides a fairly enjoyable discussion of the production. Armstrong mainly discusses stories from the set, mixing up chat about the story and characters with some technical comments. I didn't find the commentary to be terribly interesting, but I did like hearing what Armstrong was attempting with the film, even if I didn't enjoy it.
Also: A couple of very brief featurettes, "A Village Revisits History" and "Living Through Wartime" are included, as is the trailer.
Final Thoughts: Even with the presence of terrific actors, "Charlotte Gray" still does not manage to be very involving or suspenseful at all. Warner Brothers has provided a nice DVD, with excellent image quality and fine audio, along with a few supplements. Some may find this a decent rental, but I'd recommend "Enigma" (out 9/24) for those seeking a superior spy tale.
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