The Reader
Submitted by miss_niki on February 21, 2009 - 7:07pm.
Directed by Stephen Daldry
3 stars
::spoiler alert::
I’m going against type to write about a movie within 24 hours of seeing it, not to mention just a few short hours. I’m wary about doing so because I need time to absorb. So instead of presenting a final picture of the, well, picture, I’ll jot down a few thoughts:
1. This is David Kross’s movie. He radiates innocence &, subsequently, loss of the same. Young love never looked so endearing as it did when I saw his eyes gleaming with tears of hurt, betrayal, & disbelief.
2. That being said, goddamn Kate Winslet is the shit. I dare say she’s my favorite actress of my generation. I am in awe of her (seemingly) effortless talent.
3. There are a few holes & a few plot lines that I think could either have been fleshed out or down without … haven’t quite decided which yet.
4. I love a good movie about moral ambiguity & I think for that reason, this film will stick in my head for days to come … which is always a good sign.
5. Ok. On the run to get back to AMC River East 21 from a dirty counter at the Dominick’s Starbucks. But first … doughnuts, I think, are in order.
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The Reader
The Reader was one of the movies I was looking forward to seeing in our quintuple feature extravaganza. I’d heard it was great, that Kate Winslet was excellent, and overall, it didn’t disappoint.
Winslet does a great job as Hannah Schmitz, a German woman who has an affair with a student for a summer, only to break it off abruptly by leaving town. The student sees her again years later when he’s in law school and has a seminar that’s looking at a Holocaust trial in which Hannah Schmitz is defending herself from a time when she was an SS guard at Auschwitz. Throughout the movie, Winslet captures this totally German sense of honor and duty—you did as you were told, you did things because you had to, and you could not show any weakness that would shame you. Just her expressions are enough to convey a multitude of words and feelings—it’s really a beautiful performance.
Sadly, though this movie is good, it’s not going to win for Best Picture. Its flashback device doesn’t always work. The story’s told from Ralph Fiennes’ flashbacks—he’s the adult version of the law student—and other aspects of his life are shown that I didn’t really care about. I didn’t care that he had a kid, I didn’t care that he got divorced—events that show his character’s continued failure to be close to other people really fall flat. This character is distant throughout most of the movie, but how it plays out as an adult is somewhat obvious, and especially at the end, makes the entire movie fall flat. The ending is so disappointing that I was left thinking, That’s it? That’s the big ‘surprise’ this character is mentioning to his daughter? And it really overshadowed the main story of the movie, which is really moving.
An aside—if you get the chance and it’s available, rent a documentary called “Gruesse aus Dachau” (Hello From Dachau). It’s an interesting look at how the city of Dachau copes with trying to fuction as a city while having this international reputation as being a major concentration camp.
What I have a hard time with is ...
Why would you take the blame like that . I just understand why you would throw it all away for your fellow Nazi’s just because they point the finger. I mean really is that she wanted to be punished. Very tragic, for someone to go through that much suffering, knowing they are not all at fault . The other women working with her practically walked away.
Although just think of the tape collection she has now . She can start her own audio book company now.
When everything fell apart no one seemed to speak up and say what needed to be said . She did nothing when those people burned, and she did nothing when went on trial.
http://www.italkfilm.com
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