The Reader: Faithful Adaptation but Flat Movie

Rating: 4/10 (18 January 2009)

I read Bernhard Schlink's book in two sittings. It was an engrossing read. One could imagine what a stunning film it would make. However, I have to agree with some of the other writers in this post that Stephen Daldry failed to create an engaging movie considering all the material he had at his disposal. Every director and screenwriter given the task of adapting a book selects a number a scenes from the book. Rarely do they have the luxury of following the book by rote. But Daldry/Hare chose to illuminate areas of the book which should have been left to the book. The power of Schlinks's book is it's love story. Michael Berg's discovery that the love of his life was once a monster. His tormented imagination over the years, and Hanna's involvement in the crime. History and German guilt are interesting subjects in books, but they don't often materialize into passionate themes on film. We want to be shown the passion and the crime, not lectured to.