Review of Charade (1963) by Compi24 — 14 Aug 2019

Here we have a movie that, as a simple pitch, wouldn't grab me at all. You're trying to do Hitchcock and Wilder at the same time? In the same movie? With screwball elements added on top? Get real. Remarkably though, "Charade" manages fairly well for itself, juggling murder scenes (some of which are pretty graphic for the time, by the way), snappy dialogue passages, and characters goofing off with a noted amount of skill.

And, although the final product may not be entirely even all around, it's an absolutely valid effort from a tonal standpoint. Let's not kid ourselves here, however. You came here for the all-star cast, but you're going to stay for the bendy, twisty, and malleable caper narrative in play.

I love it when movies get cute with the plot like this. Sure, some of it is predictable, but I'll always feel better when a writer or director feels they have to escalate what they're doing from scene to scene, whether that's with the action, the visuals, or -- in this case -- the plot elements.

No character is who they seem to be and the audience's understandings of these characters are constantly pushed, pulled, and poked at, always giving us something to doubt, consider, or simply think about.

It's a damn fun time and I'm glad I finally got around to seeing it.