| Movie review for: The Reader |
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| Written by David Delaney |
| Monday, 09 February 2009 00:08 |
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Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes and David Kross star in this Oscar worthy movie about love and shame, and despair about the tragic events of the Holocaust. The whole story is seen through the eyes of Ralph Fiennes character Michael Berg, who when about 15 or 16 years old falls ill on the streetcar due to a fever and ends up outside of the apartment building of Kate Winslet's character, Hannah Schmitz. More than twice his age, Hannah and Micheal begin an affair that is depicted brilliantly by the director, showing the true weaknesses of both characters, while building an immense personal bond between the two, that you would otherwise have no illusion of it being probable. The relationship doesn't last long, but not for lack of care between the two. Hannah disappears soon after she is promoted in her job as a ticket checker on streetcar TRAM system, leaving no explanation to the young Michael. However, during their interesting and intense relationship Hannah encourages Michael to read to her before during and after their intimate moments together. While she takes obvious pleasure in hearing him read to her, he is growing as a young man finding confidence in words and in life in general, igniting a mature and thought-provoking perspective for such a young man.
It seems, at least in part, that these reading sessions contributed to Michael's devotion to his school and eventually to university to become a lawyer. As a student of the law, Michael's life intertwines with Hannah's, once again nearly 10 years later when his class is assigned to study of the trial of six female guards of the Nazi regime during the war. Hannah Schmitz is one of those guards, and the trial depicts some gruesome, horrifying events that these guards on trial were reportedly responsible for. It is during the trial, and what happens in both their lives afterwards where he each are faced with life changing decisions, but yet, find common ground together again much the same way they started - through books, words, and reading. The Reader moves quite slowly in a visual sense, but the underlying drama carries this movie into dripping wet intensity from start to finish with Oscar performances from Kate Winslet and David Kross. |
