Review of The Reader (2008) by Lucile D — 23 Mar 2014

Although The Reader received largely mixed reviews, considering it finally gave the Academy Award for Best Actress to Kate Winslet it simply couldn't be missed.

The pacing in The Reader begins in a very big rush because within 15 minutes it jumps from one big dramatic scene to another and from there everything simply unravels very fast. The pace is never gentle and it is simply too rushed. Considering that the majority of the first part of The Reader is a fairly basic erotic-romantic melodrama it should move at a more gentle pace to suit its mood. Instead it simply rushes through things without giving viewers a second to stop and smell the roses, but I was able to pick up on it. A lot of viewers are likely to be unable to slow down and come to the realisation about what is happening because through sleight of hand, director Stephen Daldry manages to create a visual style which disguises a lot of the elements in the film.

While the film plays the idea that the relationship between Michael Berg and Hanna Schmitz is a passionate sexual romance which has to be hidden from the world. In actual fact, the reason it has to be hidden is because Hanna is a pedophile. It is hidden because the footage depicts the appealing sexual nature of Kate Winslet and the sexual acts between her character and David Kross' simply do not have the aggressive nature of nonconsensual sexual activity that people think of when they think of pedophilia. But if you look closely, you can see that Hanna objectifies Michael for her own personal gain. She uses him for her own sexual activities which she can't find the time to participate in much of due to her heavy work schedule, making him come over at the time she requests and giving orders to him. She treats him like one of the victimised Jews she guards by making him read to her and do things that none of her female victims could ever do such as please her sexually. Since Hanna Schmitz is both a pedophile and a Schutzstaffel guard, it is really difficult to sympathise for her. And even Kate Winslet knew this when she took on the role, and she managed to put an exceptional performance into the role. But it is a role almost doomed from the start, because sympathising for such a character goes against all my morals. While I can sympathise for her being scapegoated, that's not because of who she is but simply because of the concept of scapegoating. For the rest of it I can never understand why Hanna Schmitz simply didn't reveal her illiteracy in favour of facing incarceration. The woman cannot have shame if she's a Schutzstaffel guard and a pedophile, so why she can't simply state that she cannot read is beyond me.

It's also beyond me why The Reader made her a pedophile. It's clear that the romantic and erotic drama theme is implemented for the sake of making it more dramatic and potentially controversial. In actual fact, it makes Hanna Schmitz less of a likeable character and therefore harder to sympathise for. I mean I've rooted for Neo-Nazis before in Romper Stomper for some incredible reason and American History X because the Neo-Nazi learns to better himself. But just because Kate Winslet is an incredible actress and a very sexy woman, it didn't blind me from seeing that she was a nazi prdophile. This film's attempt to make a nazi a more sympathetic figure by making her the object of Michael Berg's affections simply drove me further away from it because she is a bloody pedophile.

The Reader tries to be a film about two characters, Michael Berg and Hanna Schmitz. While characterising Hanna as a figure very difficult to sympathise for, the film fails to touch upon what really happened in Michael Berg's head as he dealt with his sexual experience in his youth. Instead of grasping the potential for coming of age drama, The Reader simply brushes off his sexual experience with Hanna Schmitz lightly which reminds us that the film really is just a melodramatic experience which lightly touches upon many themes without giving it depth or meaning. The melodramatic dynamics are thrown around so much that it is annoying, and the actors are expected to do little more than simply stare off into the distance. This gives no insight into the minds of the characters except that it's clear they are all confused and sad for different reasons.

Realistically, The Reader is some of the most melodramatic crap that cinema had ever wasted its time on, and it passes itself off as a romantic drama by casting a seductive female in the role of the pedophile. If the roles were switched around and Hanna Schmitz was a nazi man while Michael Berg was a young girl, audiences would see much more clearly that the theme is statutory rape and not erotic love. If the pedophile was a man and he was taking advantage of a young girl, audiences would be faced with the double standards of sexual judgement and see much more clearly that glamourising pedophilia is wrong. I wasn't blind to the flaws in The Reader and I think it is one of the worst films to have ever been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Basically, The Reader never clarified anything. It introduces themes but goes nowhere with them and even sometimes leaves audiences with a certain ambiguity towards what has happened or why it happened. I didn't even get a full understanding of the trial and I never knew what Michael Berg was thinking. Honestly, the story itself isn't the best but it is an interesting one on the surface. It deserves much better treatment than director Stephen Daldry gives it, and if he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Director when Clint Eastwood didn't earn one for director Gran Torino that year, the that reinforces my idea that the Academy Awards are flawed and selective. This Oscar bait feature is emotionally distant and ridiculous, and I will waste no more time explaining what is so wrong with it.

Among the more positive qualities of The Reader are its visual style which incorporates great scenery with beautiful cinematography and a strongly dramatic musical score which at least gives atmosphere to the film. And the makeup is great because it gives the illusion of age to Kate Winslet very well.

Kate Winslet is the only honest person involved in the production of The Reader because she takes the role head on. As she said, it was difficult for her to sympathise for her character. Her she does not show that because she plays the character Hanna Schmitz very well and tunes into her emotions excellently. While I didn't like the character much, I enjoyed Kate Winslet being in the role. Kate Winslet didn't hold back and was completely truthful in the role of her character, playing at her abusive qualities towards Michael to remind us that she is in fact a bad person. Yet she balances it with a touch of humanity which reminds us that she is a very complicated woman and is human as well. The role is incredibly difficult, but Kate Winslet has no trouble with it. Under poor direction and excessive melodrama, Kate Winslet stands out and soars with a very emotionally intense performance. Kate Winslet never stop impressing in The Reader, and while it is my opinion that she has given better performances.

Michael Kross isn't too great in The Reader, because under direction from Stephen Daldry he is mostly told to stare blankly into the distance. He clearly doesn't have much more to do, and most of the film he doesn't do anything but that. At times when he talks we see his talents form, and his facial gestures tune into his emotions well. So I guess he's not too bad, and he proves his potential as an actor. He just needs a better director to be working with. But considering the complex nature of his role, portraying a young man exploring a sexual relationship with a much older woman, he deserves praise for making an ambitious effort.

Ralph Fiennes doesn't make too much of an impact because his scenes require little of what makes him a good actor, but at times we are reminded of his true talent which makes it clear that he is a skilled actor. He's good for his role, even though he doesn't have much of a role or too much direction to work with. But overall he is a good cast member.

But aside from Kate Winslet's magnificent acting talent, The Reader is a terribly melodramatic and misguided drama film which asks so many questions that the book answered which it itself simply could not do, and the result is a depressingly dull, repetitive and ambiguous drama film which fails to harness its potential.