A very good period drama, but it really only succeeds due to Kate Winslet's performance - which is an absolute revelation and one of her best to date. She is utterly convincing in this very unglamorized role, and succeessfully manages to give the character a mysterious charm. It is easy to see why the central character of Michael (David Kross, a young actor who is definitely one to watch and easy to identify with) is infatuated her. In addition to that, as the film progresses the guilt her character is feeling is perfectly played - often told by a mere powerful facial expression. It would be sad if this performance went ignored this awards season, it's really brave, powerful acting. The rest of the film is also good for the most part. The first hour with the setup and the affair between Hanna and Michael is the best, for it falls into convention during the courtroom segments during the second half. After that come a bunch of book-ended scenes chronicling Michael (played as an older man by Ralph Fiennes, who is great but underused) as he attempts to get over Hanna and is eventually drawn back into her life. These scenes lack the intensity and feel choppy and poorly put-together. The ultimate conclusion and epilogue though is really effective, and the final scene between Michael and a Holocaust survivor (Lena Olin) is one of the best movie moments of the year. It's well-directed, photographed and scored, but the script features several side characters during the Fiennes portion of the film that could have easily been eliminated. The fact that this movie was rushed into theaters by Harvey Weinstein in time for Oscar season made the news rounds a few months ago, and I can't help but feel that if a little more time had been spent in the editing room this could have been one of the most powerful films of the year. Instead, it's merely a very good, occassionally disturbing drama buoyed by a haunting, unforgettable central performance. B+

Hot! The first third of The Reader is just plain hot. Many a school boy's fantasy is played out in those opening scenes between eternally sexy Kate Winslet and naïve young hunk David Kross, and the realistically natural nudity is a joy to behold.

Unfortunately, there was still two-thirds of this dang thing to watch after that...

I didn't buy Kate's "old" makeup - - nope - - didn't work for me at all, took me right out of my suspended animation of disbelief, and therefore the entire extended story didn't work for me either. While in theory, I could understand how this might be epically romantic à la The Notebook, in reality I just rarely felt any emotion towards the characters (at least once they'd got their clothes back on). So for me, the whole holocaust aspect seemed tacked on too, even though it forms the majority of the running time of this film. Same goes for Ralph Fiennes. I'm a huge fan of his work over the years, but here he simply fails to connect.

If I ever watch The Reader again, I'll be smarter next time - - I'll turn it off after about 45 minutes...

The whole film I rate:

2 out of 5.





(...but it's an easy 117 out of 5 for just that opening third...)

Watch it for Kate Winslet's performance, but not much else. The nudity and sex are concentrated in the first third of the film, but I don't feel it helped advancing the story that much. I could sense how the novel could be powerful, but some of the power are lost during the translation. Maybe it's too literal/faithful of an adaptation? I have to read the book to see. It's definitely a step down for The Hours. Still, with all that said, it's all worthwhile because of Winslet's magnificent performance. She simply carried the film from beginning to the end. I'd say she is better here than in Little Children and delivered one of her most memorable roles next to Clementine Kruczynski.

B/B+

I loved this and wish critics weren't giving it such a hard time. Kate Winslet and rising star David Kross both deliver exciting and (in the case of Kross) revelatory performances. Ralph Fiennes is also very strong, though his scenes are a bit problematic (I felt the content involving his ex-wife and estranged daughter could have been handled better). Otherwise, this is a near masterpiece -- sexy when it wants to be, intriguing always, and, in the end, very sad and thought-provoking. Recommended.

A

Winslet is awesome, the rest of the cast is... eh. I really enjoyed the second act the most and thought it really didn't need the third act.

I am really dying to see this movie. I can't until it opens here.

Winslett is....un-impressive. She's not bad, hell she was pretty convincing and rather enticing all throughout. However just like slumdog millionaire, she had just received too much hype for her own good. I actually thought Fiennes was the best part of the film and believe him worthy a best supporting actor nom. However David Kross was not very impressive, the writing worked only modestly, and did not give us any chance to really become acclimated with the romance. Then the rest of the movie is people being angry and dwelling in grief, which is done well, but doesn't work because we are never made to understand WHY they are grieving and therefore can't relate. The directing was pretty good when it wasn't focusing on tactless and disjointed nudity and sex. All in all sexual chemistry is the only emotion that is really shared between Berg and Schmitz, which reduces this to being a strange and un-connectable film with good moments and nothing else.
6/10

Part 1: Kate is naked.
Part 2: Kate is a nazi.
Part 3: Kate is old.

Mix in some pedophilia, antisemitism and illiteracy and tada! The Reader.

oh, and 'supporting' my ass.

OMG a penis!

Boring as shit, even with loads of nudity in the first act (Kate's areolae deserve Best Supporting nominations) and Hollywood's most reliable cinematic villains, the Nazis.

I've been a fan of Winslet since Heavenly Creatures and The Reader is probably my least favourite performance of hers.

As choppy as any ocean I've kayaked, it's the editing that doomed this pic.

D

I think the BP nom has influenced your perception, though. Really

I'm the only person who's given this wonderful movie an A.

To quote Liz Lemon from last night's 30 Rock "aduh!"

But seriously, I didn't like Daldry's The Hours. I didn't like Minghella's English Patient. I don't like movies that use this type of framework to tell a story. I certainly hate sleepy, weepy, Holocaust films. My review would have been exactly the same.

You can go back and look at past comments about The Reader I've made prior to yesterday and I'm sure they echo these sentiments.

I hated it before it was nominated.

But you also hated it AFTER Manohla hated it. Hmm......

Okay, so I rushed out to my local art house yesterday (which included skipping a class, but that's college for ya) to see this in celebration of The Dark Knight's snubbery and to determine if this movie's boatload of nominations was deserved in any way, shape, or form.

It certainly isn't OMG WORST THING EVAR like most Batfans and other dregs of society would like you to believe, but it is definitely middling and pedestrian. Not a single thing happens in this movie that you couldn't predict from reading the plot synopsis and knowing its release date. It's award-courting fare completely down the line (which was apparently a great success). Everything is polished to a sheen, the camera work is smooth and utterly predictable, and the lighting is 3-point, all-encompassing, and bland.

With all that said, I still found it relatively engaging and, to parrot bradley, smoking fucking hot in certain spots.

Can't someone dislike the film and not be a Batfan or dreg of society. Reader is basically Atonement with fucking and for the record, I disliked that one too.

Yes. But it doesn't help your case with the endless whining in the other forum and your avatar.

Just wait until you see my anti-Reader tattoo.

I don't have a case.

It sucks that someone can't hate a film around here without having an agenda. I would think after all these years and my broad cinematic tastes, I would have a little street cred.

Maybe The Reader just sucks. The simplest explanation is often the correct one.

My post wasn't necessarily directed at you, loyal.

I can just imagine the flames of hellfire brought down on the Kodak Thursday morning by dudes in Three Stooges and Bruce Campbell t-shirts.

Don't forget their bushy beards and fragrant aromas.

It's a good, but frustratingly uneven movie. The first two-thirds are very good, carried largely by excellent performances from Kate Winslet and David Kross. The romance between the two of them has some serious sparks, which makes the courtroom scenes all the more effective. During the middle portion, an interesting idea about the cruelty of human nature is developed through the revelations of Hanna's actions as a guard and the way her fellow guards treat her during the trials, but this idea isn't explored in much depth once the movie moves into its final third. The last half-hour is your standard "guilt over dark past" fare, and it drags as the result of trying to tidily wrap up every last detail. (And surprisngly, Ralph Fiennes is a bit flat, at least compared with how Kross fares as the character in his younger years.) I really liked most of it, but it fizzles out so much toward the end that the level of my recommendation is weakened.

B

Snack's favorite part of the film:


NSFW!!!