Review of The Reader (2008) by Wellington O — 14 Nov 2012

I finally got around to watching this film (which is ironic considering Hugh Jackman's opening for the Oscars where it was "next on his list" as it really was next on my list). Anyways, this movie was phenomenal and Kate Winslet deserved the Oscar. I am still not sure however if her role in this was as good as her playing April Wheeler in Revolutionary Road, as I believe that could have easily won her the Academy Award. Ralph Fiennes and David Kross also have very passionate performances. It is hard not to have a passionate performance in a movie like this though. This is a story of great guilt and shame. It is a Holocaust film that portrays the horror and effect of the tragedy without ever once setting foot inside a concentration camp (well during the Holocaust anyways). It is a holocaust story told from three different angles: a perpetrator, a survivor and a member of the next generation of Germans. This is what lies at the heart of the film, the guilt and shame and lack of understanding that separates the generations of Germans following WWII from the Nazi regime that came before it.

A very powerful film.