We Rented The Truth About Charley on DVD. The flip side of the DVD is a clean bright copy of Charade, so you get two for the price of one.
I liked the film, and would recommend it. The reviews were unnecessarily harsh. The Portman score was original and although not my kind of music, it worked very well for the film, and very nicely showcases Portman's versatility. The cast was fine, even Wahlberg who is not my favorite lead, is good in the film. Tim Robbins is just great as Bartholomew (with a wonderful "end"), and the other players seem well up to the task. To judge the film, one must simply set aside the original and concentrate on whether this film works or not. I think it works ok. Am sorry we didn't see it on the big screen, but the DVD isn't bad. Some terriffic shots of Paris in it, a bonus. Demme gives the flick some flair and the overall "look" is original enough, I'd say. The mini-documentary about the making of the film is entertaining and not too long. I also viewed about 25 mins of Charade to re-familiarize myself with the material, and though I had also recently seen the film on AMC this version was more pleasing, of course. The players in the original are mostly legends of course (both the black hats as well as the whites) and I suspect that the comparisons were maybe too intense, I dunno. There were enough storyline changes to keep it interesting, including a French actress (Christine Boisson) as the police Comandant instead of a male lead and Lisa Gay Hamilton as one of the villains. I was not sure at first about Thandie Newton in the lead role but this also was probably a good call. The insertion of Charles Aznavour as himself is rather clever and seems successful enough as a musical bridge of sorts. Others might disagree. There is so much junk out there in film-land these days, this flick was a pleasant surprise.
I liked the film, and would recommend it. The reviews were unnecessarily harsh. The Portman score was original and although not my kind of music, it worked very well for the film, and very nicely showcases Portman's versatility. The cast was fine, even Wahlberg who is not my favorite lead, is good in the film. Tim Robbins is just great as Bartholomew (with a wonderful "end"), and the other players seem well up to the task. To judge the film, one must simply set aside the original and concentrate on whether this film works or not. I think it works ok. Am sorry we didn't see it on the big screen, but the DVD isn't bad. Some terriffic shots of Paris in it, a bonus. Demme gives the flick some flair and the overall "look" is original enough, I'd say. The mini-documentary about the making of the film is entertaining and not too long. I also viewed about 25 mins of Charade to re-familiarize myself with the material, and though I had also recently seen the film on AMC this version was more pleasing, of course. The players in the original are mostly legends of course (both the black hats as well as the whites) and I suspect that the comparisons were maybe too intense, I dunno. There were enough storyline changes to keep it interesting, including a French actress (Christine Boisson) as the police Comandant instead of a male lead and Lisa Gay Hamilton as one of the villains. I was not sure at first about Thandie Newton in the lead role but this also was probably a good call. The insertion of Charles Aznavour as himself is rather clever and seems successful enough as a musical bridge of sorts. Others might disagree. There is so much junk out there in film-land these days, this flick was a pleasant surprise.