Charlotte Gray (film)
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| Charlotte Gray | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Gillian Armstrong |
| Produced by | Sarah Curtis Douglas Rae |
| Written by | Sebastian Faulks (novel) Jeremy Brock |
| Starring | Cate Blanchett Michael Gambon Billy Crudup |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. (USA) FilmFour (UK) Senator Film (Germany) Universal Pictures (all other areas) |
| Release date(s) | 17 December 2001 |
| Running time | 121 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom Australia |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Charlotte Gray is a 2001 feature film directed by Gillian Armstrong, based on the novel by Sebastian Faulks.
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[edit] Production
It is set in Vichy, France, during World War II. The film features Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, Michael Gambon and Rupert Penry-Jones. The film was filmed on location at Saint Antonin Noble Val, in the French department of Tarn-et-Garonne, as well as on locations in England, Scotland and at Pinewood Studios. The film was not commercially successful and contributed to severe financial problems, and subsequent scaling-down of operations and restructuring, within FilmFour productions.
The story is inspired by the exploits of a number of women trained in Britain who were dropped into France to provide a communications link to the French resistance (some of the best known including Pearl Cornioley, Nancy Wake, Odette Samson and Violette Szabo).
[edit] Plot Summary
In 1942, a young Scot, Charlotte Gray, travels to London to take a job as a medical receptionist for a Harley Street doctor. On the train she talks to two men sharing her compartment, and one of them - who works for the secret service - gives her his card. Despite the war, social life in London is in full swing and the attractive, intelligent girl soon meets up with an airman, Peter Gregory. The temporary nature of life at the time is epitomised when she quickly loses her virginity and then her heart to him. The romance is heightened when Gregory is sent on a mission over France and news comes back to Charlotte that he is missing in action.
Charlotte spent much of her childhood in France and speaks the language fluently - a talent that the secret service wishes to exploit in its effort to support the French Resistance. She subsequently joins a Special Operations Executive (SOE)training course. Once it has grilled her on methods of interrogation, dyed her hair a mousy brown and replaced her fillings, Charlotte is parachuted into France to complete a specified mission. But instead of doing her job and heading home, she sets out to find Gregory's whereabouts.
[edit] Cast
- Cate Blanchett (Charlotte Gray)
- Billy Crudup (Julien Levade)
- Michael Gambon (Levade)
- Rupert Penry-Jones (Peter Gregory)
- James Fleet (Richard Cannerley)
- Abigail Cruttenden (Daisy)
