I’m so glad
that I didn’t go to The Santa Clause 2! My mom and
my brothers saw it while I was at this movie and almost killed
me when they walked out of the theatre. They were hurt even more
when I told them I was the only person in the theatre at my
movie! Now I am confident that all of you will be seeing Ryan’s
review of Mr. Santa Clause’s flick! I never knew a fat guy in a
red suit with a Jewish elf could scare people so bad!
J
The Truth About Charlie is a stylish,
low-budget film with a genuine cast and one of my favorite
directors of all time. The mystifying shots don’t look as cheap
as those of Tadpole, but close. The director,
Jonathan Demme, who also did the Silence of the Lambs,
takes advantage of this. He is able to make it more mysterious
by using the shaky camera, and at times even illogical shots.
Only part of The Truth About Charlie is
suspenseful, but almost all of it is intriguing.
When the story starts, it leaves us dazed and
confused. It is so wacky, out-of-order and roughly done that it
leads us to believe that the film reels have somehow been
misplaced in the projector. We start on a train, which appears
to be French, because all of the people on it are speaking the
language of Thai. It shows a man and his wife, the husband
appears to be the owner or manager of the train. Than we move to
a sandy beach, which looks like it’s in the
Bahamas,
for a few seconds. We see the wife of the train owner, named
Regina Lambert (Thandie Newton), meeting Joshua Peters (Mark
Whalberg).
Regina
seems to be intimidated by Joshua, and we begin to think that
she has developed a crush on him. Once again, the video shifts
to another setting. This time it turns to
Regina
lives;
Paris,
France.
The mysterious Joshua is there, too. He says hi, and by the way
that he states his exclamation; she suspects that he is chasing
her. When she walks into her home, everything is destroyed and
two FBI agents are in the kitchen. She talks to them, and they
suggest that she comes to their offices for a meeting. There
they tell her that her husband (the train guy), is dead. She
also finds out that he was the illegal holder of lots of money,
and many people who were his former co-workers will do anything
to get it. They inform her that it is in her possession, yet she
has no idea where it would be or what form its in. She must find
the money, and hide from these “bad” people. Who is there to
help her get out of this ghastly situation? Joshua. He checks
her into a hotel room, and makes her a few meals. On her list,
he isn’t a suspect, but on the FBI’s, he’s seemingly number one.
Who has the real truth about her husband, Charlie?
Wahlberg and
Newton’s
performances suited the given roles very well. Wahlberg has the
typical “Ben Affleck” look about him, but he is a much better
actor. His character, Joshua Peters, is probably the most
mysterious of all. Until the very end, we don’t know who’s side
he’s on and if he is the right choice for the characters to
associate with. Thandie Newton is as hot as they get. Her
stunning beauty mixed with fabulous acting and an interesting
character makes an unbeatable match. She is much like Elizabeth
Hurley of Serving Sara, but she is yet again, a
better actress, and does not do pornography. Thandie’s
character, Regina Lambert, who is often called “Reggie,” by Mr.
Peters is wildly amusing. This is not the average character.
Reggie’s dialogue is extremely intriguing, and at times we even
suspect that she murdered her husband. We believe this because
of
Newton’s
frisky way of stating that she wants to be as “uninvolved as
possible” with the case, as well as the low level of grief and
mourning that the death brings her personality. Everything is
resolved in the end, but the acting is magnificent the whole way
through.
The Truth About Charlie is impenetrable
in its edgy delivery. The performances, direction, and
screenplay are tough to match by any other team. This might not
be the best remake in the world, but it’s an effectively done
piece of work. If you want a good movie, that isn’t going to be
the most crowded at the theatre, than The Truth About
Charlie is a sure bet.
-Danny, Bucket Reviews