Review: The Reader (2008)

The Reader (2008)

2.0

DRAMA

U.S. Release Date: 12/12/08

Running Length: 124 Minutes

MPAA Classification: R (Sexual Situations, Nudity)

Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Cast: Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, David Kross, Bruno Ganz, Lena Olin

Director: Stephen Daldry

Screenplay: David Hare, based on the novel by Bernhard Schlink

Cinematography: Roger Deakins, Chris Menges

Music: Nico Muhly

U.S. Distributor: The Weinstein Company

Review by: Carter Moulton

02/09/09

Ralph Fiennes stars in another cold period piece, The Reader. You look at the guy and see nothing distracting, but there’s just something about his presence that sucks the warmth out of every scene. We saw this with The English Patient, another overrated, “epic” period film. Luckily, for The Reader’s sake, Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) invites some of the warmth back in. Don’t get me wrong, Fiennes makes a great Voldemort, but it makes me sick, watching the Academy Awards gobble up these pretentious, distant films that take advantage of historical events.

Set in post World War II Germany (again?), The Reader focuses on Hanna Schmitz (Winslet, who showcases a German accent with ease) and her love affair with the much younger Michael Berg (David Kross, and later Fiennes). They meet when Berg is taken by an illness in the streets. Schmitz notices the fifteen year old and escorts him home. Michael then seeks out Hanna to thank her.

They begin to meet at Hanna’s home everyday. Hanna asks Michael to read to her before they have sex, and we see this routine repeated numerous times. The affair lasts only one summer because, one day when Michael goes to visit, Hanna mysteriously disappears. The affair between the two is trying to be sold as an “intense bond," but there really isn’t much passion displayed. We don’t even know if she loves him or not—she gives an unconvincing nod when Michael asks her.

Time passes through decades, and, like most time-traveling dramas, inconsistencies in age and date are plentiful. Michael grows up and goes to Law school, and during a sit-in of an actual trial he comes to find that Hanna is being tried. She worked as an officer for the Nazi party and is now being charged for 300 murders. Michael knows a very important piece of information that may help save Schmitz’s life—but will he find the strength to share it?

The ultimate problem with The Reader doesn’t lie with Fiennes—I just like to use him as a scapegoat. It’s actually a mixture of elements. As good as Kate Winslet’s performance is, it feels like the screenplay (David Hare) was adapted onto a stone slab—it’s that remote. The plot has one secret—look at the title—that it clings to but doesn't utilize. Adding to the frustration, every character in The Reader is amazingly self-centered. Watching characters we don’t relate to suffer isn’t all that moving. Also uninviting, Stephen Daldry (director of Billy Elliot, The Hours) never lets an ounce of warm light onto the frame. It’s a chillingly tepid directing job; I don’t understand what the Academy is recognizing.

One scene did manage to weasel its way through the artic air: a scene where Michael tape records himself reading various books and sends them to Hanna. This scene carried a little discharge of emotion and had me hoping for a gripping ending. Alas, the ending dragged on and only helped me realize that I didn’t care much for what was going on. The performances from Kross and Winslet are strong, and it’s not a particularly awful movie. It’s just not a great one—so the question stands: why did this film garner 5 Oscar nominations?