"The Reader" -- A Miss Due To Poor Editing
If I had my druthers, a terrific first half love story featuring the enchanting Kate Winslet and newcomer David Kross would make up the bulk of this film, and the tasteless and dry second half would mostly be given the heave ho.
The Weinstein brothers, who exec-produced this mishmash, have long been known to be unafraid of taking a hacksaw to films they deem to be lacking. And a hacksaw is exactly what "The Reader" could use. Take out the last handful of scenes, and leave the viewer with the taste of Winslet's passing as the final statement to the viewer, and this one could have been very good.
What might have been a terrific and tender hearted coming of age love story between a bright, precocious boy of fifteen and a possible ex-war criminal female in post World War II Germany becomes weighted down with some ridiculous posturing by the seemingly ever tearful Ralph Fiennes (does the man ever laugh?). It is certainly a long time since his breakthrough role as the chillingly cold hearted Nazi commandant in Speilberg's now classic "Schindler's List." Why does Mr. Fiennes continue to play wimps and bores? I found the younger version of the man/boy much more engaging, before he became an adult blaming his sorry life on the lonely women who slept with him years before out of boredom and simple lust. The scenes with Fiennes character's daughter and the wealthy concentration camp survivor should have been exorcised altogether, as they go nowhere and are simply a waste of the viewers' time and energy.
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Reviews for this one have been generally mildly positive, a for the perfomance of Ms. Winslet alone, I recommend it.
The Weinstein brothers, who exec-produced this mishmash, have long been known to be unafraid of taking a hacksaw to films they deem to be lacking. And a hacksaw is exactly what "The Reader" could use. Take out the last handful of scenes, and leave the viewer with the taste of Winslet's passing as the final statement to the viewer, and this one could have been very good.
What might have been a terrific and tender hearted coming of age love story between a bright, precocious boy of fifteen and a possible ex-war criminal female in post World War II Germany becomes weighted down with some ridiculous posturing by the seemingly ever tearful Ralph Fiennes (does the man ever laugh?). It is certainly a long time since his breakthrough role as the chillingly cold hearted Nazi commandant in Speilberg's now classic "Schindler's List." Why does Mr. Fiennes continue to play wimps and bores? I found the younger version of the man/boy much more engaging, before he became an adult blaming his sorry life on the lonely women who slept with him years before out of boredom and simple lust. The scenes with Fiennes character's daughter and the wealthy concentration camp survivor should have been exorcised altogether, as they go nowhere and are simply a waste of the viewers' time and energy.
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Reviews for this one have been generally mildly positive, a for the perfomance of Ms. Winslet alone, I recommend it.
posted by joe sweeney at 6:08 PM
1 Comments:
I look forward to your review of "...Benjamin Button". My thoughts on that, "Freakin' Oustanding".
But I do want to see this one too despite the promise of...despair... which seems must follow any tale like this.
When I get to be king of the world (which should happen any day now), ALL movies - and I mean AAALLLL - will end with a walk-on by Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey...(Lloyd Christmas and Bobby Boucher)...
:-D
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