This week we close out 2008’s best picture nominees with Stephen Daldry’s The Reader (R). Kate Winslet and Ralph Fines star in this look back at two people in the aftermath of WWII Germany.
Ryan: When The Reader was nominated for Best Picture, I was quite surprised. After watching it, not so much. Let me clarify that I don’t believe that The Reader is worthy of its Best Picture nomination. But I clearly see why it was nominated. It has the ingredients that academy members go for--provocative performances, a complicated atypical love story and the Holocaust. Mix that all together with an Academy-friendly director and in retrospect it’s not shocking at all that The Reader scored multiple Oscar nominations.
Andy: I would have a very hard time making the argument that The Reader is one of the five best movies of the year. Truth be told, I don’t know that it would crack my top ten. Its first problem is that it is impressively (or oppressively) boring. The movie runs right around two hours in length, but it is a long, drawn out two hours, jumping needlessly from decade to decade spanning a forty year period in the second half of the 20th century.
Ryan: The Reader is far from being a great a movie or even a very good movie. It's a flawed work that's mildly engaging. At its essence its nothing more than cinematic window-dressing. It has the look and aspirations of a prototypical indie flick but all those moviemaking elements exists on the surface. At its core The Reader offers very little. The ambitions are definitely there as the film attempts to address several moral dilemmas. But ultimately if one doesn't buy the love story in the movie then one is going to have a tough time in caring about the consequences from the choices that they make.
Andy: The Reader exists in two very distinct sections. The first section is set in post-war Germany and is a little more creepy than it is engaging, as Winslett seduces a teenaged boy. The second section, set in 1966 and the 1980s, could have been a very interesting short film about the intersection of ethics and law in the trial of Nazis decades removed from the war. Instead it comes across as a slightly awkward and disjointed conclusion to the film’s first section. And for seemingly no reason other than to add dramatic flair, the movie includes sections from 1995 that don’t seem to really fit in at all.
Ryan: Kate Winslet continues her string of strong work with her performance in The Reader. This isn't her best work but when has she ever given a poor or even a run-of-the-mill performance? She is arguably the best actress of her generation and probably the front-runner to pick up (finally) her first Academy Award. Also delivering a solid performance is German-born actor, David Kross. He's a newcomer to Hollywood but he more than held his own with his scenes in the movie—especially the ones with Winslet.
Andy: Winslet is nothing short of amazing in this movie. She is the primary reason to watch it, as she takes a complex and difficult character and makes her seem incredibly human against all odds. She will likely gain her Oscar for this performance, and there is no reason to dispute that.
The reader has some amazing performances and grand ambitions, but it generally falls short. Final grade: C+.
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