It would be fair to say that Hollywood remakes are generally a tricky prospect, be it an 'Americanization' of a foreign film or an update of a beloved 'classic', the problem is that these films are generally characterized as soulless cash-ins, created by greedy Hollywood big-wigs in the hope of increasing the annual dividends. These films are usually slaughtered by critics, rejected by the public and left to wallow in obscurity. So now we come to 'The truth about Charlie' a remake of the Hepburn/Grant classic 'Charade', which judging by Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and the IMDB score (a rather underwhelming 4.8) has been tossed by the critics and public alike, on the ever increasing pile of Hollywood's misconceived projects. It's a pity really because I actually enjoyed 'The Truth about Charlie' (although I must confess I haven't seen the original version; 'Charade', as I may have been a little harsher if I had) and felt the reaction it received was not completely justified, as there are numerous reasons to recommend this film.
The film begins with Regina Lambert (Thandie Newton) returning home to her apartment in Paris, only to find the place ransacked and her husband nowhere to be found, however she is soon informed by the police that he has been murdered. It's not long before an entourage of mysterious characters appears who are quick to inform Regina that her husband had a past, had managed to make away with $6 million and that they're very keen to get they're hands on the loot and are perfectly willing to go to extreme lengths to do so. It's not all bad for Regina, as she manages to find some comfort (and more) with handsome stranger Joshua Peters (Mark Wahlberg), although an American agent named Louis Bartholomew (Tim Robbins) warns her to be wary of Joshua as his motives may well be duplicitous. Of course it soon becomes very difficult for Regina to know who she can trust, as she is soon being cornered by a trio of disgruntled thugs, by Joshua Peters, by Louis Bartholomew and by the French Authorities all of whom seem to believe she has knowledge of the money's whereabouts.
And the plot twists just keep on coming, some obvious, some surprising and none superfluous. A film like this needs a strong, likeable, believable protagonist who holds your attention throughout the film. 'The truth about Charlie' is lucky in that it has Thandie Newton to carry the lead role, as she has managed to draw favorable comparisons with Hepburn's performance in the original, having not seen 'Charade' I can't comment on that, although she does posses something of a likeness to Hepburn and has her own brand of infectious charm, achieved largely through her ability to convincingly balance vulnerability and strength in a character. Newton is perfect for the role and the film would not be nearly so good without her and one can only hope she will soon join the Hollywood A-list as she has more than enough talent to deserve to do so. The same cannot be said for her (more famous) co-star; Mark Wahlberg. He comes across as bland and unlikable; there's something strangely obnoxious about him and the script gives little opportunity for character development, while Wahlberg demonstrates his limited acting range and lack of chemistry with Newton. The rest of the cast give solid performances in their mostly one-dimensional roles, Tim Robbins being the stand-out. The film does have a few plot hole (without wishing to give too much away one character sacrifices their life to save Regina, even though they perhaps would be more inclined to kill her than rescue her) and the ending is contrived and mawkish, clearly they wanted to tie all the loose threads together and also hoped to increase the films commercial potential. Acclaimed director Jonathon Demme captures the atmosphere of the sleazy side of Paris perfectly, and the soundtrack, which is comprised mostly of French Pop, also adds flavour to the film (and is remarkably similar to the soundtrack used in Neil Jordan's 'The Good Thief').
Whilst those who adored 'Charade' are liable to loathe this film, I'd recommend that anyone interested in stylish thrillers were little is what it seems (and almost all the characters have at least two names) check this film out. My score 7 out of 10
The film begins with Regina Lambert (Thandie Newton) returning home to her apartment in Paris, only to find the place ransacked and her husband nowhere to be found, however she is soon informed by the police that he has been murdered. It's not long before an entourage of mysterious characters appears who are quick to inform Regina that her husband had a past, had managed to make away with $6 million and that they're very keen to get they're hands on the loot and are perfectly willing to go to extreme lengths to do so. It's not all bad for Regina, as she manages to find some comfort (and more) with handsome stranger Joshua Peters (Mark Wahlberg), although an American agent named Louis Bartholomew (Tim Robbins) warns her to be wary of Joshua as his motives may well be duplicitous. Of course it soon becomes very difficult for Regina to know who she can trust, as she is soon being cornered by a trio of disgruntled thugs, by Joshua Peters, by Louis Bartholomew and by the French Authorities all of whom seem to believe she has knowledge of the money's whereabouts.
And the plot twists just keep on coming, some obvious, some surprising and none superfluous. A film like this needs a strong, likeable, believable protagonist who holds your attention throughout the film. 'The truth about Charlie' is lucky in that it has Thandie Newton to carry the lead role, as she has managed to draw favorable comparisons with Hepburn's performance in the original, having not seen 'Charade' I can't comment on that, although she does posses something of a likeness to Hepburn and has her own brand of infectious charm, achieved largely through her ability to convincingly balance vulnerability and strength in a character. Newton is perfect for the role and the film would not be nearly so good without her and one can only hope she will soon join the Hollywood A-list as she has more than enough talent to deserve to do so. The same cannot be said for her (more famous) co-star; Mark Wahlberg. He comes across as bland and unlikable; there's something strangely obnoxious about him and the script gives little opportunity for character development, while Wahlberg demonstrates his limited acting range and lack of chemistry with Newton. The rest of the cast give solid performances in their mostly one-dimensional roles, Tim Robbins being the stand-out. The film does have a few plot hole (without wishing to give too much away one character sacrifices their life to save Regina, even though they perhaps would be more inclined to kill her than rescue her) and the ending is contrived and mawkish, clearly they wanted to tie all the loose threads together and also hoped to increase the films commercial potential. Acclaimed director Jonathon Demme captures the atmosphere of the sleazy side of Paris perfectly, and the soundtrack, which is comprised mostly of French Pop, also adds flavour to the film (and is remarkably similar to the soundtrack used in Neil Jordan's 'The Good Thief').
Whilst those who adored 'Charade' are liable to loathe this film, I'd recommend that anyone interested in stylish thrillers were little is what it seems (and almost all the characters have at least two names) check this film out. My score 7 out of 10