The Reader
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Some stories are true that never happened - Ted Boynton
Bernhard Schlink’s novel The Reader, an engaging meditation on the puzzling duality of human nature, makes a solid jump to the big screen in director Stephen Daldry’s film of the same name.
Never shrinking from its characters’ failings, The Reader offers an unflinching view into grey areas of morality: Is it ever acceptable to forgive a horrific crime committed by a lover? Does ethical behavior require that one intervene to help a person who consciously refuses to help herself? Why is the seduction of a 15-year-old boy by a 36-year-old woman unremarkable in this context?
This last question didn’t truly strike me until the movie was over, when it occurred to me that, throughout the film, Daldry makes no apology or excuse for Hanna’s sexual relationship with a teenager.
Whether because it’s a boy with a woman, or because it was Europe in the 1950s, Daldry simply presents the event as something that occurred, leading to other events of greater import.
Even more impressive is the film’s refusal to soften or explain away Hanna’s culpability for her role in the Nazi machine.
In an era when unsympathetic protagonists are either spruced up by nervous studio executives or neutered by focus groups, Daldry and Hare admirably elect not to interfere with the tone and pitch of Schlink’s characterization.
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Thanks for the post. I was contemplating whether to watch or not. I am not for women for the young kid, so most likely not watching though I like Kate a lot.
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Originally posted by Fantagf:
Thanks for the post. I was contemplating whether to watch or not. I am not for women for the young kid, so most likely not watching though I like Kate a lot.
har?
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Originally posted by soleachip:
har?
I go for plot other than favourite star -
Originally posted by Fantagf:
I go for plot other than favourite starsame here, i tend to avoid funky movie watching situations.
