Good, but I was vaguely disappointed by Winslet's performance

Rating: 7/10 (4 May 2009)

I was vaguely disappointed by this one. I thought it was a good film, well worth the time, but I just didn't see the greatness of Kate Winslet's performance. Sure, she's excellent as Hanna, the former SS prison guard who has an affair with a young man (David Kross, amazing), but I wasn't bowled over by her acting. It's a thoughtful drama that quietly makes you question yourself, although I don't think the *big secret* is handled very well-- it all seems rather predictable. Stephen Daldry directs and he's very good at period drama, capturing his settings well and bridging between the decades with ease. The cinematography is lovely. However, in a film that's very much about the power of literature, the writing at times seems sloppy. I've never read the Bernhard Schlink novel, so maybe someone could shed some light on this one for me. Did it fail in it's translation from novel to the screen?