I MAKE MOVIE REVIEW-The Reader

The answer for you other moviephiles is hell to the no. This little-movie-that-could about a 15-year old drawn into a passionate affair with a Nazi did NOT deserve to snatch Batman's Best Picture slot. What The Reader does deserve attention, discussion, and (the Paul Blart: Mall Cop throng won't like this) lots and lots of incisive interpretation-in short, overall intellectual engagement from start to finish. Here is a movie that challenges you, fascinates you, yanks you in-even if it never does draw an emotional response. Despite being billed as the Kate Winslet Show (more on that later), more credit should be given to Stephen Daldry's tender guiding hand, the pairing of Roger Deakins and Chris Menges poetic eyes, and Nico Mulhy's mesmeric score. Not to mention the other actors-not a weak one among them. David Kross (I have a small man-crush on the guy due to his orgasmic talent) knocks the role of the 15-year-old out of the park, and Lena Olin brings her unique brand of ocean-deep complexity to the small but crucial part of a concentration camp survivor. Now back to Winslet. "Amazing" does not suffice. No adjective in the English language exists to describes the intensity of her commitment to the character of Hanna Schmitz, tempress, trolley conductor, and Nazi. She imbues her simple opening entrance-a walk up a flight of stairs-with more detail and feeling then many actors can put into a Big Movie Speech. It's not a show-offy performance, but it is a warts-and-all possession that more than justifies the Oscar buzz In fact, I'd actually somewhat maybe sort of almost be okay with her winning over my favorite performance of the year, Anne Hathaway's turn in Rachel Getting Married. You see the potential for greatness here? Well, here comes the let down. Daldry knows how to direct this actor and capture that scene with plenty of oomph and finesse to spare, but frustratingly, he lets this delicate story fall into the worst trap of tragedy-you spend every minute of the movie feeling sorry for every character, with each person treated like a martyr or a helpless victim. One thing you never want to feel in a drama is a sense that all is lost from the beginning, Since you're knee-deep in the Pity Pool from frame one, the movie has no place to go. Part of this is due to screenplay error. Part of it seems to be due to the film's editing (scenes later in the film, with Ralph Fiennes as the all-growed-up boy, are cumbersome, unfocused, and abruptly placed.) It's not as boring as the Craptacular Case of Benjamin Button, nor nearly as disappointing as Doubt. It's got superb production value, a smart balance of tough questions and intriguing answer, and a risky, commendable turn from one of our greatest performers. It's certainly ahead of the normal Hollywood pack. What separates it from most of it's fellow awards-season contestants, though, what earns it the adjective "better" but not "best" (i.e. "Best Picture"), is not what it has but what it lacks-because, to paraphrase a song from an old, demonically cheerful musical, "you gotta have heart."-B+