"The Reader" (2008)

Directed by Stephan Daldry and starring Kate Winslet, David Kross and Ralph Fiennes, the film opens in post-WW2 Germany, where teenager Michael Berg, becomes ill and is helped by Hanna Schmitz, a stranger twice his age. When he recovers from scarlet fever and he returns to her home to thank her for helping him that day, the two soon begin a secret love affair over the course of the subsequent summer. When Michael realises that Hanna loves being read to, he starts bringing books, such as “The Odyssy” and “The Lady with the Little Dog” to read to her at the beginning of all their liaisons. However, Hanna mysteriously disappears one day and Michael is left confused and heartbroken. Eight years later, Michael is now a law student observing the Nazi war crime trials – one of which he is stunned to realise Hanna is a defendant. As Hanna’s past is gradually revealed, Michael realises he is in possession of information which could save Hanna from a life in prison...but despite this, it is a secret Hanna herself, is unwilling to reveal. In deciding what to do, Michael is torn between his differing views of justice. The film is an adaption of the novel by Bernhard Schlink of the same name.

A part of me really loves this movie. Ok, the sex scenes can be a bit much at times, and the manner in which their affair is actually initiated has always struck me as quite random...but once you look past this to the simplicity at the core of the plot, it’s so worth a watch. The screenplay by David Hare is simply brilliant. There are some really carefully constructed clues regarding later twists and surprises which are so subtly executed. Otherwise, you might be forgiven for considering walking out after the first part...but I promise it’s all leading up to a fantastic turn of events. I wish I could start gushing about the whole thing now but I’d hate to ruin the delight of discovering them for yourself if you haven’t yet seen the movie, because the writing is quite extraordinary.  

  

Kate Winslet received Best Actress at that year’s Academy Awards and BAFTAs, which was really well deserved. She’s fantastic as Hanna. The character is quite a cold person living an isolated life, but yet there is something endearing about her. She plays this perfectly. Ralph Fiennes too, is great in this movie. He effectively plays a man who’s become emotionally stunted and over the course of the film we’re finding out why. David Kross was only eighteen at the time of filming and had to learn to speak English to appear in the film.

The film opens with an older Michael Berg (Ralph Fiennes) making breakfast in this pristinely clean house as a woman leaves having spent the night. He goes towards the window and he sees his younger self through the window of a passing train as he remembers a significant day in his past. I think this transition from present to past is very effective. It’s different. Now in the past, we see young Michael (David Kross) soaking wet as it’s pouring rain and he’s sort of stumbling looking a bit worse for wear. He slips into a side street and there’s a great shot of his figure completely shrouded, just black at the side of the screen, due to the heavy weather, while the other people pass by on the street. Music is heard very faintly in the background, very gentle, but fades once a woman (Kate Winslet) appears and notices that he’s gotten sick. She is very brisk, very abrupt. The only sound now is the pouring rain and her bustling around him. An overview shot is given, still only showing their silhouettes. She cleans him up and helps him, but what’s special about this scene is that it’s done with them almost completely shrouded, bar the occasional close ups to their faces (which even still are shadowed), as the rain continues to pour outside. All together, we’ve had very little dialogue yet, just what we can see on the screen as the story slowly begins to take shape. She [Hanna] asks him where he lives and the next shot comes quite abruptly as the rain has suddenly stopped and we are in brighter light where we can see the characters properly and not just the outline of their figures. I just really like the way this scene was filmed and edited...The idea seems so simple, yet so effective.

I think the makeup in this movie deserves a mention too. Ivana Primorac was the artist. She also worked for such films as “Sweeney Todd”, and “Atonement”. There are effectively three sections in this film as we see Kate Winslet’s character getting older. In the “third” section of the film, shall we say, Hanna is now an old woman and Kate Winslet is almost completely transformed!  But like, even her hands and feet and everything; the veins etc...It’s just remarkable. 

  

I can see how maybe not everyone will totally to get on board with this movie given the subject matter, but I think there’s something quite special about it anyway, and it deserves a watch.J

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