The Reader (Stephen Daldry)

Michael Berg (Ralph Fiennes) is a top German lawyer who reminisces about his youth (the teenage Michael is played by David Kross) in the 1950s and a passionate affair he had with an older woman (Kate Winslet) which involved him reading aloud to her. Several years later, Michael attends the trial of several female Nazi war criminals who are being convicted of 300 deaths. One of the criminals on trial is his former love, Hanna.
The film that might just get Kate Winslet her severely overdue Oscar is an admirable piece of work, but not a great one. The direction is so stagnant and there were so many scenes crying out for more attention that just wasn't given. It leaves you cold and the ambiguity is far too much. Some scenes are pretty but never spectacular like you'd expect from Roger Deakins. Daldry has done so much better. The main problem I had with the movie was that it felt like two different tales stuck together - the sexual awakening tale of Michael and the moral courtroom battle regarding the holocaust. It may work as a novel but as a film, it feels awkward, especially with such ridiculously hot sex scenes taking up the first 45 minutes of the story. The relation between Hanna and Michael is the most interesting aspect of the story. Hanna takes control of everything, deciding when they shall make love and when he shall read to her. The books are like foreplay for her as she devours each tale he tells her. She is like a colder Mrs Robinson, taking charge of a young boy's life and ultimately affecting him in the future. Winslet is terrific, but then again she is never anything else.
Hanna is a tough character - we never really learn anything about her but she begins to need Michael on more than just a sexual level and she's difficult to understand. Winslet can bring a lot to a role without even trying, and she gives the role the performance it deserves, even when naked. David Kross is a face to watch in the future and Fiennes is morose and confusing but you understand why. The German cast includes Bruno Ganz and Alexandra Maria Lara, all underused but good.
The theme that I did enjoy in the film was the importance of reading. Words are as important a character in the story as Hanna and Michael. They tie characters together, reveal the truth and destroy lives. In many ways, books propell the characters' decisions and lead them to do things they'll soon regret. As an avid reader and English literature student, I felt the strength contained in the stories Michael read to Hanna, as well as the book written by a holocaust survivor that leads to Hanna's trial. Sometimes the theme is laid on a little heavily but overall it's the element in the film that really saves it from total averageness.
As a total Winslut, I shall be openly screaming for Kate to win the Oscar for her terrific performance but in the other categories I can't help but feel The Reader is in a position of undeserved acclaim. Unaffecting and often strangely empty, it's admirable in it's attempt to dissect a topic like the holocaust but doesn't succeed. It's a shame to use the term generic but it definately applies.