The Truth about Charlie

Returning from holiday in the Caribbean, Regina Lambert (Newton) finds her Paris apartment totally empty, all her belongings missing and her husband Charlie (Dillane) nowhere to be seen. After a visit from Commandant Dominique (Boisson), she is informed that her husband is dead and he died under very suspicious circumstances. After a man she met on holiday suddenly turns up in Paris, the US government ask for her help and some dubious people start harassing her, Regina realises there was more to Charlie than she ever knew.

After all the Oscar success with The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia, you might have expected more from director Jonathan Demme but you will be severely disappointed.

This remake of the 1960s classic Charade, which starred Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, is a complete mess. Not knowing whether it is a romance, a thriller or a surreal drama (French singer Charles Aznavour just pops up and sings at a window for no apparent reason), the movie just becomes flat and utterly uninteresting.

Mark Wahlberg and the beautiful Thandie Newton try their best with the material but they have some awfully big shoes to fill. Tim Robbins is his usual excellent self but only fleetingly appears to steal every scene his is in. The rest of the cast also struggle through but there is nothing of note that will do anything to advance their careers.

The shoulder of blame has to lie with co-writer/director Jonathan Demme. His erratic use of the camera with strange angles and extreme close ups does nothing to pull you into the story. The plot does have some decent twists and turns and you never know whom to trust but it is not enough to keep you any more than slightly interested.

The Truth About Charlie is a remake to far. I can understand remaking a movie that never lived up to its original potential but when you produce a film that pales in comparison you have to wonder, why did they bother?

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2003