Charlotte Gray

During World War II a woman (Cate Blanchett) falls for an English flier. When he is shot down, she volunteers to parachute into France and work with the Resistance, where she meets an intense young communist (Billy Crudup) and his cantankerous yet kindly father (Michael Gambon). Director Gillian Armstrong and writer Jeremy Brock adapt Sebastian Faulks’ novel into an overdressed and under-motivated melodrama that leaves major questions unanswered: What is Blanchett actually up to in France besides lurking shifty-eyed in alleys and inquiring after her missing boyfriend? If Crudup is a Resistance fighter, why does he stand in the street screaming at German soldiers, daring them to shoot him? Blanchett, as usual, is intense and persuasive, other performances are good, but the story strains credulity.