Of course what the book didn't have was Ralph Fiennes giving a performance so wooden that you have to keep reminding yourself that this is a live action feature and not a puppet show...actually that might be a great idea for a childrens film,
What saves "The Reader" is the performance of Kate Winslet who is, again, fabulous. I know it's a bit of a cliche to bang on about how good Winslet is and how awful it is that she hasn't received an Oscar...I know it doesn't make for entertaining reading to hear how good something is...but I have to be honest with you! Surely that's the least you expect?
When young Michael Berg (David Kross) meets and falls for Hanna Schmitz he has no idea that she hides a dark and unpleasant past that will, eventually, come back to haunt him and scar him in the most terrible of ways. His pubescent journey of sexual discovery at the hands of this older woman is the stuff of schoolboy fantasy and, at times, it doesn't quite ring true.
As Hanna's secret is revealed (a Nazi past) the now mature Michael is a law student who is witness to her downfall during a war crimes trial. It is in these moments that Winslet really delivers...her confused, ignorant Hanna cannot fully comprehend the magnitude of what she stands accused of and her shame will not allow her to save herself.
It's not possible to watch this without remembering Winslets performance in Ricky Gervais' "Extras" where she talks about taking a role in a holocaust movie is a guarantee for an Oscar as is playing someone with learning difficulties...here she hits both birds with the same stone. Art immitating Art immitating life eh?
As with all films that deal with this era in history there has been much high praise in the mainstream media and while I cannot find fault in Winslets performance or in Daldrys direction this is still a film that never quite manages to be anything other than a sort of Nazi Rainman with sex.
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