Thursday, March 12, 2009

The Reader

We used a long held gift card to the Landmark Theatres this weekend. We headed down to the east side for a showing of the The Reader at the Oriental Theatre. I don't think I've been to the Oriental for years. If you're in MKE and looking for a neat little movie theatre, it's worth checking out. Lots of history and charm. Not the biggest screen or stadium seating, but a great little gem.
I thought we should see a cultured movie as long as we were going to an unusual theatre. Kate Winslet, playing Hannah, won an Oscar for her performance in this film. To be truthful, I didn't really know the whole premise of the movie, only that Winslet and the young man, named Michael, had an affair and later, she turns out to be a former SS guard during WWII. Well, I saw a little, make that, a lot more of the actual Kate Winslet and her little affair than I cared too. The second half of the movie provided much more clothing and more of a story.

Michael grows up to be a lawyer. During his law school years, he attended a trial of female SS guards who were being prosecuted by the German government in the sixties. This was historical news to me. Michael soon discovers Hannah has a secret that proves she should be innocent at the close of her trial, but she refuses to reveal the secret. Instead, she is convicted, at age 44, of twentysome years in prison. Michael is unable to bring himself to reveal her secret either and off to prison she goes. Eventually, his conscience catches up with him and he begins to communicate with her while she sits in prison.

I won't ruin the ending, nor will I reveal her secret. It would ruin the movie. Once this one heads to DVD, I would suggest checking it out.

1 comment:

Becky said...

I had the awkward experience of seeing The Reader with my mom. I expected some nudity, but not the amount shown! It was seriously like a soft-core porn!