The Winslet & The Reader

Those are three of my favorite qualities in a film. The Reader achieves all three and then some; it is an intense, character driven film which more than deserved the Oscar nods for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay & Cinematography.

And then there is The Winslet. That is what I like to call my favorite actress of all time. Phenomenal in The Reader. I can’t think of another actress who would have been able to play this role with any degree of success. In most of The Winslet’s prior films, we may have disagreed with some of her characters’ choices, but had sympathy and rooted for most of them in the end. In The Reader, however, her character is a morally reprehensible human being. And yet, The Winslet manages to infuse her with just a touch of humanity; not enough to stimulate sympathy, but enough to let you in so that you don’t outright hate the woman she is portraying.

I am not one to recap a film or give any key plot points away, so I will simply recommend The Reader for anyone who appreciates a thought-provoking drama with an excellent script that is enhanced by stellar direction and performances from the entire cast (The Winslet, Bruno Ganz, David Kross, Ralph Fiennes & Lena Olin). For the prude at heart, fair warning that there is quite a bit of nudity.