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The Reader marvelously done in the hands of Winslet, Daldry
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| The Reader marvelously done in the hands of Winslet, Daldry | |
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by Albert Rodriguez -
SGN A&E Writer The Reader Opening December 25 When it comes to startling novels transformed into feature films, there are few occasions to celebrate. The Shipping News was dull, Memoirs of a Geisha a longwinded bore, and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil never even bothered to take itself seriously. Bucking this trend is The Reader, an excellent work of fiction now turned credible piece of cinema. The opening scene takes place in Berlin 1995, but the story really begins in 1958 when teenager Michael Berg (David Kross) hops off a city tram and becomes sick in a dark entryway. Here he meets Hannah Schmitz (Kate Winslet), a mysteriously attractive lady twice his age who confines herself to a small, rundown flat. Months after recuperating from a illness that left him bedridden, Michael pays a visit to Hannah, and the two embark on an adventurous and passionate affair. This all seems like old-school fantasy - older woman deflowers boy, he falls head over heels - but the physical thrust of their relationship soon balances out with an emotional attachment; not quite love, yet neither is it just sex. Without warning or a proper farewell, Hannah disappears and leaves a heartbroken Michael to always wonder what happened to her in the years ahead. While he moves forward, eventually going to college and earning a law degree, marrying a fellow classmate and divorcing, Michael never quite removes himself from that affair - not only was it monumental in him becoming a man, but he can no longer connect on such an intimate level with another woman. Reading to her aloud bookends (no pun intended) Hannah and Michael's sexual sessions, lending itself to the main storyline. Not forgotten, although a distant memory Hannah reappears in her former lovers' life - in a most unexpected way. I've learned to not print any spoilers when writing film reviews because all too many times journalists over-share information before you get to the theater, thus preventing moviegoers from making their own discoveries and opinions. And in The Reader, there are certainly opportunities to judge - a woman involved with a schoolboy, the aftermath of history's worst genocide, post-war divide, and lifetime secrets kept from loved ones. Stephen Daldry, whose talents I first came across on a trip to London where he directed a stage production of An Inspector Calls, has a brief yet praised resume as a film director - Billy Elliott was wonderful and The Hours was another rare instance, like The Reader, in which the motion picture adaptation did justice to the script. The openly Gay (and married to the opposite sex) director is best at letting actors be actors and letting them delve into complex characters, such as Nicole Kidman's Oscar-winning portrayal of Virginia Woolf and Winslet's impressive work here as Hannah Schmitz. Daldry is also effective in being bold, like the many scenes that both Winslet and Kross are shown naked. Winslet, a multiple Academy Awards bridesmaid (a pity, indeed), could finally march to the podium with this performance, even though it's being touted as supporting when it's actually lead - but hey, it worked for Jennifer Connelly, right? Winslet plays Hannah as a strong, defensive, naïve, unregretful, and at times desperate person who can't lay claim on any piece of success her entire life, unless you count a job promotion that eventually gets her into trouble. If Winslet should earn an Oscar for The Reader, and she has a shot at nabbing a lead statue for Revolutionary Road, she must thank Kross for allowing her to chew on scene after scene like cotton candy. This gives way to crediting Kross for a superb breakthrough performance, holding his own to a Hollywood heavyweight - he's shy, innocent, brave and distraught from one end of the film to the other. Not to mention he gradually becomes more appealing as the movie progresses - he's definitely one to watch. Ralph Fiennes receives second billing for The Reader, but he's not in it long enough and has no meaty scenes to make a significant dent. The lone actor, aside from Winslet and Kross, to pay attention to is Volker Bruch, who plays handsome collegiate Dieter Spenz and appears in one of The Reader's most memorable scenes - when a handful of students debate the criminalizing of Holocaust conspirators. I was recommend The Reader in its literature form by Tony and Grammy-winning composer Duncan Sheik several years ago, and to date it remains one of my favorites. Thankfully, there's now a great film to tell this story in the event I'm too tired to re-read it. |
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