Not as compelling as the novel

Rating: Null/10 (3 May 2014)

I admired the novel by Markus Zusak which describes the experience of a young girl in wartime Germany but the story works better on the page than on the screen. Many of the ingredients - effective sets and locations, good photography and strong acting - are creditable, but the script is not strong enough and there is insufficient narrative dynamic to make this worthy film the success that British director Brian Perceval and his German crew clearly sought.
Young Canadian Sophie Nélisse does well as the central character Liesel Melinger and Australian Geoffrey Rush and Briton Emily Watson are excellent as her adoptive parents, while Roger Allam provides the gentle yet chilling voice of Death. Sadly the fear of Nazism and the magic of books do not come through as powerfully as they should.