Michelle SweeneyReview - The Reader
February 13th 2009 08:32
Kate Winslet gives an intelligent performance as Hanna Schmitz, who works as a tram conductor in Germany in 1958. She encounters 15-year-old Michael (David Kross) falling ill outside her home and comes to his aid. Once he recovers from his illness, he revisits her bearing a bunch of flowers to thank her for her help. Hanna, living alone and craving companionship, begins an affair with the teenager, which involves not only sex but also constant requests that he read to her. Tales of Huckleberry Finn, War and Peace, Lady Chatterley's Lover and The Odyssey bring them closer together and distances Michael from his friends and family as they are not aware of the secret goings on occurring between the lovers. Despite the affair and a brief bicycle holiday in which Hanna clearly enjoys spending time with Michael, she keeps her distance, asks nothing from him (other than sex and reading) and in return, gives him nothing. One day he visits her apartment to find that she has disappeared.
Ralph Fiennes plays Michael as an adult and while he plays the part well, I couldn't help but feel his talents were wasted in this small role. Michael marries and has a daughter but his summer fling with Hanna in 1958 and his limited and somewhat tenuous contact with her, prevents him from truly being able to open up to anyone else.
The Reader has been pushed into the category of a "Holocaust" film but this is really not the case as the movie is set post-Holocaust. The majority of films on this subject, such as the recent film "Defiance" and "The Boy In The Striped Pajamas", also focus on the victims but in this film we are presented with the facts from the perpetrator's point of view.
At one point in his adult life, Michael visits one of the camps prior to visiting a camp survivor. She makes it clear that visiting the camps will not bring any forgiveness or closure. "If you are looking for catharsis, go to the theatre or literature. Don't go to the camps."
I don't want to give too much away here in terms of the story, I will say that the ending of the movie seemed a little out of place. Whilst I did want to get to know the older Michael more and see more of him and his relationships with that of his family, the last scene felt tacked on in some way.
There were some lovely moments in this film but despite my hesitancy, I still recommend it as a film worth seeing.
Voyage Review: 3/5
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Comment by Linh
Celluloid Fun
I've just seen The Reader and liked it a bit more than Kate Winslet's other film Revolutionary Road.
I felt sad for Kate Winslet's character Hanna and her little secret but happy that Ralph Fiennes' character Michael finally told someone about Hanna's 'secret'.
I'm hoping Kate wins the Oscar for this one.
Cheers!
Comment by Michelle Sweeney
Competition Queen
Always Learning
Cinema Voyage