Movie review: The Reader

Previously I have reviewed 4 out of the 5 films nominated this year for Best Picture. The last one on my list to see was The Reader. It stars Kate Winslet in her award winning role. She won the Golden Globe and is nominated for the Oscar. The movie also stars Ralph Fiennes in a very good performance as well. The movie follows Fiennes as he recounts a love affair that he had as a young boy with Winslet’s character. This affair doesn’t last long but he runs across her later at a trial where she is defending herself against war crimes.

Their love affair starts out pretty standard with them meeting every day to have sex. But eventually Winslet gets the character of Michael to read to her. This becomes a regular thing where he will get a different book and sit and read to her before they make love. But given the fact that she is an adult and he is still pretty young they don’t exactly have the most stable relationship and this shows. One thing I will say is if you are at all shy about nudity you might want to stay away from this movie as there is quite a bit of it both male and female.

The sex scenes are also filmed very well. At first Michael is just a boy discovering what it is all about but then the real passion he feels is brought forward and then near the end of their relationship you can see their issues rise to the surface as the passion has gone out of the act.

The movie kind of exists in two parts. The first part is of Michael as a young boy when he meets Hanna and they start to see each other. After that is over the second half of the film focuses on her trial and the events in both of their lives afterwards. There have been a lot of movies made regarding the holocaust and this one is quite different from the rest. At the onset you don’t even know that this movie is going to deal with that subject matter. But then when it does it doesn’t throw it in your face or try to get too graphic or depressing. There is a pretty powerful scene where Michael is walking through one of the camps but it is pretty somber and is more about his reflection on the person he used to know.

I guess I have to talk about Kate Winslet’s performance. All I can say is she was brilliant. One thing is in movies accents are usually hard to pull off but she does a good job with her German accent and it doesn’t come off as forced or fake. She really pulls you into the role and makes you feel sympathetic for her character despite the things in her past. Of all of the movies I have seen her in this by far her best performance. She right now is my pick for the Oscar for Best Actress. A lot of people think it will go to Meryl Streep for Doubt but Winslet’s performance was a lot more subtle and deep and emotional.

I definitely recommend this movie. It is probably not one that will appeal to everyone but is a very good romance movie with a bit of a different angle. Now will this movie win Best Picture? I don’t think it will as my pick is still The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. But if anything can unseat that or Slumdog Millionaire it is this movie.

My score: 8.5/10