A Scottish woman (Cate Blanchett) becomes a World War II espionage courier in the hopes of finding her pilot boyfriend shot down over France…but said bloke is so bland and generically handsome that you know she's bound to fall in love with a resistance fighter (Billy Crudup) while behind enemy lines. Based on Sebastian Faulks' novel, this is a disappointingly lifeless adaptation--especially considering the talent involved (in 1997 Blanchett and director Gillian Armstrong made the potent, unconventional romantic tragedy Oscar and Lucinda, based on Peter Carey's novel). In fact, the characters here are so bloodless they might as well be in black-and-white compared to the picture's gorgeous color palette (even the habitually brilliant Blanchett seems like she's acting in a straightjacket). For similar subject matter try the engrossing 1997 French film Lucie Aubrac (VL-1/00) instead--it's everything Charlotte Gray wants to be, and a true story to boot. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Gillian Armstrong and a pair of documentaries--the on-location "A Village Revisits History" and "Living Through Wartime"--that each nudge the four-minute mark. Bottom line: A standard extras package for a substandard film.] (R. Blackwelder)
Charlotte Gray
Warner, 121 min., PG-13, VHS: $22.98, DVD: $26.98, July 9 Volume 17, Issue 4
Charlotte Gray
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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