So, we went to see The English Patient with high, HIGH, expectations. And we were so...SO...SOOOOO...disappointed. What? Were you expecting us to have liked it? I remember thinking at the time "how many times can we look at the undulating sands of Africa from an airplane?"...or "Wait, what? Did they jump back in time again?"...or "Who is this black haired bearded guy hitting on Juliette Binoche?" Ugh. We did NOT like it...and then that year as we watched the Oscars we felt so gypped when it won all these awards. I mean, I guess I could appreciate Juliette's performance...but ugh! What a stinker of a movie :-)
SO..I was apprehensive when we went to see The Reader tonight. I really wanted to see it (and it turns out I used to own the book...but never finished it) and Kate Winslet is a pretty big deal around our house. She's been Sean's girlfriend for going on 12 or so years..and I've been known to offer ...well, nevermind. :-) Let's just say she's my movie-star BFF.
Now...I wouldn't say I didn't like it. Sean for sure wasn't bowled over. But it definitely has stuck with me. I can't stop thinking about it...four hours later. I can tell when something like that affects me because I pore over the internet to find out stuff about it. So, I've read the IMDB.com stuff on this movie, I've consulted Wikipedia, I've watched the cast interviews on the movie's site, and I've even watched the Official Trailer on YouTube...even though I JUST saw the movie.
It's fascinating to think of what makes people fall in love, what forces from the past and present affect that, what forces from the world around you affect that, how do you reconcile what you feel for someone if and when you learn a secret from their prior life, does that change what you had, does that change how you feel now.
I love stories and movies that don't give you the "Right" answer. I do, really. I sometimes get frustrated but ultimately I love it because it lingers with you. It keeps you thinking. I mean, I loved the book Bridges of Madison County and I remember finishing it in a weekend. But at the end I'm pretty sure that the housewife doesn't go with the rogue traveling photog and I'm pretty sure she's completely tortured yet stoic about that decision. I love LOVE Nicholas Sparks novels...mostly because I love Kevin Costner and he's in Message in a Bottle. But when Kevin's character's story runs its arc...I'm not really questioning anything.
In fact I just finished a novel with my students where at the end they asked me the "so what does that ending mean?" question. It's fun to say "I don't know, what do you think?". That's how I feel about The Reader...does Hanna see him?...did he ever love her?...did she know about the trial when she left?...was he able to love anyone else?...why the tapes?...what was his motivation with the tapes?...I don't know; what do you think?
The Reader is a slow-moving but absorbing story of sexual awakening and moral dilemmas. Director Stephen Daldry (The Hours) has intelligently adapted Bernhard Schlink's novel set in post-World War II Germany. Though the effort is uneven, it's a well-acted romance that becomes a less compelling courtroom drama...The Reader raises thorny questions and avoids simple answers. Michael's morality is left disturbingly unclear. This tale of eroticism, secrecy and guilt is bound to stir discussion.
---Claudia Puig, USA Today
**FYI...when you attend an R-rated movie whose reviews says things like "sexual awakening...DO NOT take your 8 year old and then HARUMPH as you leave the theater**
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