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The Reader
How do you turn tasteless literature—Bernhard Schlink’s 1995 Holocaust novel, which “complicates” archetypes by making an illiterate, unrepentant Nazi woman into its central figure of pity—into tasteful, awards-season filmmaking? Streamline the ambiguity and go heavy on the steam. In 1958, 15-year-old Michael (Kross) has an affair with the much older Hanna (Winslet, in her Oscar-winning turn), only to learn years later that she belonged to the SS. What was once a literary exercise in dubious morality has become a virtuoso demonstration in shouted themes and chronological scrambling. Extras include inconsequential deleted scenes and featurettes with titles like “Adapting a Timeless Masterpiece.” Probably a good idea to be a fan going in.
April 7, 2009
