Charlotte Gray

Cate Blanchett stars as Sebastian Faulks's eponymous wartime fictional heroine, Charlotte Gray in this love story, set against a backdrop of World War II London and France.

The plot follows an innocent young Scottish woman, Charlotte Gray, who falls in love with a dashing British pilot, Peter Gregory.

Charlotte feels she has to do something to help the war effort so she joins a secret section which assists the French Resistance. Sent to France on a mission, she soon becomes reluctant to leave when she finds out that her pilot lover has gone missing after he was shot down over France.

Cate Blanchett was recruited for the title role after months of negotiations. Her name appeared on a 'wish list' drawn up by filmmakers, which included actresses of the calibre of Kate Winslet, Emily Watson and Gwyneth Paltrow. It took almost a year before director Gillian Armstrong and screenwriter Jeremy Brock produced a draft of the script Blanchett was happy with, after which she agreed to take the role. Billy Crudup, this year's heartthrob who appears in Almost Famous, will play opposite Blanchett as Peter Gregory.

FilmFour chief Paul Webster secured the novel for producers Ecosse Films, the team behind the movie Mrs Brown.

Producer Douglas Rae of Ecosse Films believes the movie is about 'innocence discovering evil.' He and his team were in London in January to start shooting, before moving to locations in Scotland and France.

Release date: Late 2001

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