Some movies can leave people dazed and confused, while some can leave you feeling high. The Truth About Charlie achieves both effects.

Directed by Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs), The Truth About Charlie weaves a dizzying tale of murder and deception as it takes you on a roller coaster ride across the other side of Paris.

The Truth About Charlie is an edgy, offbeat remake of the 1960s romantic thriller Charade, starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. Demme trades in the classic couple for Mark Wahlberg (Planet of the Apes) and the exotic Thandie Newton (Mission: Impossible 2).

Regina Lampert (Newton) returns from her vacation in Martinique to discover her pad trashed, her money gone and her husband Charlie (Stephen Dillane) dead. She finds herself grilled by hard-edged Paris police Commandant Dominique (Christine Boisson), trailed by Charlie’s estranged cohorts (Joong-Hoon Park, Ted Levine, Lisa Gay Hamilton) and shadowed by an eccentric U.S. bureaucrat (Tim Robbins). At the same time, she falls for Joshua Peters (Wahlberg), the omnipresent lover who conveniently pops up wherever she goes, a little too eager to help her out.

They all seem to be after the same thing: the $6 million that Regina’s dead husband left with her, money stolen from the U.S. government on a botched military operation. She has no idea where that money is.

As she wanders the streets of Paris in search of the truth and $6 million, she becomes entangled in a setup more convoluted than she had imagined.

The Truth About Charlie delivers a playful mix of romance, mystery and dry humor (make sure to stay a little bit after credits roll, for a pleasant surprise).

The characters have their own little quirks that make them interesting to watch, but it’s hard to keep track of who’s who when you’ve got a plot as dense as this. Shot entirely hand-held, the restless camera swirls from one character to another and offers only fleeting snapshots of Paris.

It takes the audience on an unusual trip through dark alleys and street markets to which a tour group would never dare venture. Although the movie employs clever point-of-view camera angles, the overall feel becomes nauseating after a while.

The acting borders on average, the camera shots are too frisky and the plot screams clichZ.

Despite its snazzy camera tricks and impressive world music soundtrack (which includes Transglobal Underground, Manu Chau, Asian Dub Foundation and yes, even Sparklehorse), there is only one thing that ultimately redeems this mishmash of a murder mystery suffering from a multiple personality disorder: Newton’s brilliant performance as the shrewd but good-hearted Regina.

She radiates with a sultry yet na*ve charm that outshines Wahlberg’s shabby attempt at acting.

Overall, The Truth About Charlie isn’t too terrible–if you like convoluted storylines and nauseating, swirly cameras. Make sure to bring some Tylenol with you.