At a recent Q & A session, director Jonathan Demme said he had a difficult time finding the right tone for his latest film, The Truth About Charlie. Having seen the picture, I can tell you -- he still hasn't found it.

The movie, a remake of the 1963 Cary Grant-Audrey Hepburn classic Charade, may take place mostly in Paris, but it's really all over the map. It doesn't know what it wants to be. Is it a comedy? Is it a romance? Is it a thriller? For a time it tries to be all of the above -- and fails at each one.

Demme, speaking to an audience in Philadelphia following an advance screening, said the movie could have gone in vastly different directions in the editing room. For example, another version could have been much funnier. I don't doubt it. There are some good elements in place.

For starters, there's the decent Hitchcockian story -- updated from the original. And the casting isn't bad. Mark Wahlberg, stepping into the Cary Grant role, is surprisingly debonair. This role officially puts him light-years away from his early '90s white-rapper persona. Don't get me wrong, he's still no Cary Grant -- but watching him in this film, you can easily see him as an American James Bond.

Following in Audrey Hepburn's heels is the to-die-for Thandie Newton (last seen falling into Tom Cruise's arms in Mission: Impossible 2). Combining beauty, sophistication, elegance and vulnerability, Newton more than succeeds in bringing a Hepburn-like quality to her character. She also gets boatloads more screen time than Wahlberg, which isn't a bad thing considering she's the best thing in the movie.

If only the script and the directing were better. The movie begins with an intriguing set-up -- Newton returns home from vacation to find a) her husband has been murdered, b) all their assets have been sold and the money is now missing and c) several nasty people are coming after her looking for the cash. A mysterious stranger arrives to help in the form of Wahlberg and the movie is off and running. But the story falls apart in the second act. The tension and suspense evaporate. Things come back together in the third act, but it's too late.

"So, what's a talented actress like you doing in an awful movie like this?"

Before I go any further, I must make a confession: If I had a list of least-favorite directors, Jonathan Demme would probably be near the top of it. When his films aren't trying desperately to be "quirky", they're usually simply being overly pretentious. (Somehow, Silence of the Lambs, managed to be a decent movie despite his efforts.) This time around, his crimes against cinema include exceeding the recommended dosage of movie cliches. For instance, how many times have you seen foreigners in movies begin conversations in another language -- only to switch into perfect English after a couple of sentences? Well, in this movie, get ready to see it again... and again.

Then there's the car accident scene -- we hear squealing brakes and crunching metal off-screen, then Demme actually gives us a shot of a hub cap rolling across the street. The movie gives us no indication these bits are meant to be tongue-in-cheek.

There is one terrific foot chase that Demme admits is inspired by Run Lola Run. The scene has energy, suspense, humor and fun -- all things the rest of the movie tries, but fails to achieve.
(c) Copyright 2002