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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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 Posted - 12/18/2008 : 11:47:01
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The Reader
The title's one of deliberate ambiguity, raising doubts about whom the epithet is for.
But if anyone had doubts about Kate Winslett's evolution as one of the most credible and engaging actresses of our day, this superb performance as Hanna, a post-war German woman with things to hide, should lay them all to rest. From the moment we meet her as an unremarkable no-nonsense woman who helps Michael, a young lad who's thrown up on her doorstep, Winslett reaches out to take our hand and guide us as surely into her story as she guides the "Kid" - as she'll call him - over the threshold to manhood.
But it's what he and we discover some years after their affair is suddenly over that occupies the emotional home of the film. And it's the way the Kid handles what he's discovered that will change Hanna's life. By the time the Kid has morphed into Ralph Fiennes, with a daughter of his own, he's finally able to resolve his doubts and truly become a man.
The film works and both the tale and the production hold you to the end. Hanna herself is holding two secrets, but the Big Secret should be obvious to anyone who speaks the language of film. I'm not sure it needs to be such a secret, except for how it affects Michael's complicity in her future. In effect, this makes us just as complicit, and I'm not sure that's helpful, considering how much time has passed since the War.
Personally I think too much time is spent on the first act of the film - the details of the affair become too repetitive, and it might have been more challenging to stay with Michael, to see how he copes with keeping his own secret that gnaws away like a rat in his gut.
But that's a matter of choice for screenwriter David Hare. It's typical, really. Undeniably accomplished as he is, for me there's always something missing at the emotional core of his characters.
Thankfully, Winslett - and the rest of the assured cast - rise to the challenge and admirably fill in the gaps.
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Demisemicenturian 
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 01/17/2009 : 04:39:57
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The Reader
quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabe
Personally I think too much time is spent on the first act of the film - the details of the affair become too repetitive
Too right -- I was just sitting there thinking "Where on Earth is this going?" After that it gets a lot better. However, Kross and Fiennes look far too different in terms of their ages. It just didn't work for me -- Michael's attitude slowly changing is too easily overshadowed by the very prominent change of actor. |
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GHcool 
"Forever a curious character."
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Posted - 01/19/2009 : 07:11:04
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I thought the cast and screenplay were superb. Unfortunately, this is a very German movie, but the film is entirely in English. This works for some Holocaust-themed movies such as Schindler's List, but that one is more humanist whereas this one deals specifically with post-war Germany and its own unique confrontation with its genocidal past. I consider this a very good film, but had it been made with a German cast and had the dialogue been in German, I think it would have gone from "very good" to "great."
However, after his several anti-Semitic roles (a Nazi in Schindler's List, the Pharoah in The Prince of Egypt, and the game show contestant that unfairly beats out a Jew in Quiz Show), its nice to see Ralph Fiennes play a character that has a positive attitude toward Jews.  |
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damalc
"last watched: Sausage Party"
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Posted - 04/21/2009 : 03:02:25
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| space holder |
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damalc
"last watched: Sausage Party"
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Posted - 04/21/2009 : 03:10:45
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absolutely loved it.
INVISIBLE SPOILER BELOW
was no one else outraged that Michael kept Hanna's secret to himself, letting her rot away most of her life in jail? from the time he realized it, i couldn't think of anything else. i was really mad.
so does he tell his daughter, "i didn't tell anyone that she couldn't read. that probably would have saved her, oh, about 40 years in jail."
edit: oops, NOW it's invisible  |
Edited by - damalc on 04/21/2009 11:45:07 |
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GHcool
"Forever a curious character."
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Posted - 04/21/2009 : 15:23:30
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| I wasn't outraged in the least. It wasn't his secret to tell. It was hers. Plus, she deserved nothing less. |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 04/22/2009 : 15:23:19
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| Spoilers: As a lawyer, his duty should be to justice, not to keeping secrets for someone who isn't even his client. The main issue for me isn't that she should serve less time, but that the other women should serve more. By withholding evidence he allows them to get off lightly. |
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GHcool
"Forever a curious character."
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Posted - 04/22/2009 : 21:05:15
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| I agree with Salopian. |
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Sludge 
"Charlie Don't Serf!"
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Posted - 08/30/2011 : 19:42:32
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Finally caught this and agree with most above.
As for Ralph's performance, it definitely makes up for "The Avengers." |
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 08/31/2011 : 08:08:16
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quote:
Originally posted by Sludge
Finally caught this and agree with most above.
As for Ralph's performance, it definitely makes up for "The Avengers."
Well... almost. If he hadn't done Onegin I don't think he would have ever been forgiven for The Avengers.
Then again, he goes and does stupid things like Maid in Manhattan and you wonder... WHY? |
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The Reader
