**Available on DVD**
Starring Kate Winslet, David Kross, Lena Olin, and Ralph Fiennes
Written by David Hare
Directed by Stephen Daldry
Starring Kate Winslet, David Kross, Lena Olin, and Ralph Fiennes
Written by David Hare
Directed by Stephen Daldry
I read the novel this flick is based on early on in my Book-a-Week Quest and I didn't care for it at all. I found the book quite melodramatic and I hoped that the movie would not have fared the same.
Copying the summary from my book review, a fifteen-year-old boy, Michael, falls in love with Hanna, an older woman in her 30s, and they begin a torrid love affair. Years later (after they have since separated), his former lover is on trial for crimes she committed as an officer at a Nazi concentration camp. Michael watches the trial as part of a college class and it brings all his feelings for his former lover back to the surface, only this time he is seeing Hanna in a much different light.
The movie followed the book very closely. Unfortunately, that's not such a good thing. I just don't get the emotional arc of this story. It seems like two separate tales -- a story of a "forbidden" love affair and a brief history of one aspect of the aftermath of the Nazis -- that just so happen to be related by a tenuously loose thread. I just couldn't get into the story in the movie or in the book. However, the only thing I found odd is that I enjoyed the love affair much more in book form and I enjoyed the trial much more in movie form...go figure.
Although Kate Winslet got much buzz and an Oscar for her role as Hanna, I found the young David Kross to be the star here. I believed in his childlike innocence at the beginning of the film, his sexual awakening in the middle during the love affair, and his conflicted feelings during Hanna's trial. He was definitely overshadowed by Winslet in the run-up to the 2009 Oscars and that is unfortunate. As far as Winslet is concerned, she was much better in Revolutionary Road (rent it...now!). In this, I felt that she was a little weak -- at times, I felt like I was watching her "act" (which is rarely the case with the talented Winslet). Additionally, although this isn't her fault, I didn't believe her as she aged...the make-up was poorly done.
A quick side note about another supporting actress in this one -- I was quite impressed with Lena Olin in one of the film's final scenes where she discusses the aftermath of the trial with Ralph Fiennes (who plays the elder Michael). That final scene, simple as it was, actually raised the bar of the movie for me a little. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to make me feel that the film's nothing more than a much more expensive made-for-television film.
Copying the summary from my book review, a fifteen-year-old boy, Michael, falls in love with Hanna, an older woman in her 30s, and they begin a torrid love affair. Years later (after they have since separated), his former lover is on trial for crimes she committed as an officer at a Nazi concentration camp. Michael watches the trial as part of a college class and it brings all his feelings for his former lover back to the surface, only this time he is seeing Hanna in a much different light.
The movie followed the book very closely. Unfortunately, that's not such a good thing. I just don't get the emotional arc of this story. It seems like two separate tales -- a story of a "forbidden" love affair and a brief history of one aspect of the aftermath of the Nazis -- that just so happen to be related by a tenuously loose thread. I just couldn't get into the story in the movie or in the book. However, the only thing I found odd is that I enjoyed the love affair much more in book form and I enjoyed the trial much more in movie form...go figure.
Although Kate Winslet got much buzz and an Oscar for her role as Hanna, I found the young David Kross to be the star here. I believed in his childlike innocence at the beginning of the film, his sexual awakening in the middle during the love affair, and his conflicted feelings during Hanna's trial. He was definitely overshadowed by Winslet in the run-up to the 2009 Oscars and that is unfortunate. As far as Winslet is concerned, she was much better in Revolutionary Road (rent it...now!). In this, I felt that she was a little weak -- at times, I felt like I was watching her "act" (which is rarely the case with the talented Winslet). Additionally, although this isn't her fault, I didn't believe her as she aged...the make-up was poorly done.
A quick side note about another supporting actress in this one -- I was quite impressed with Lena Olin in one of the film's final scenes where she discusses the aftermath of the trial with Ralph Fiennes (who plays the elder Michael). That final scene, simple as it was, actually raised the bar of the movie for me a little. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to make me feel that the film's nothing more than a much more expensive made-for-television film.
The RyMickey Rating: D+
Oscar Note: So, having seen all five 2009 Best Actress nominees -- Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married, Angelina Jolie in Changeling, Melissa Leo in Frozen River, Meryl Streep in Doubt, and Kate Winslet in The Reader, the winner without question to me is Anne Hathaway. Had Winslet been nominated for Revolutionary Road, it would've been a much tougher decision.
I know you liked it more than me, but after I posted, I went back and looked at your post about it and realized that we did both think Kross was quite good.
ReplyDeleteAnd, yeah, without a doubt that should've been Hathaway's Oscar. If they were gonna dole one out to Winslet for "Lifetime Achievement" (which, let's be honest, that's what her win was for), it should've been for Rev Road.
The reason she won is probably because of both roles.. One great and one less great but still damn good performances in the year > One great performance from the woman who signed up for Bride Wars.
ReplyDeleteAlso, we basically feel the same way about this movie and it's Lifetime-yness.
Totally inappropriate, but quite funny, nevertheless...
ReplyDeleteAnd Justin...I hate to think that something like Bride Wars swayed the voters...Rachel Getting Married didn't connect with those voters at all (I don't think it even got nominated for Best Screenplay).
I also hate the notion of the "Body of Work/They're Due" Oscar which is happening too often lately (especially in the Best Actress category during the aughts...Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Kate Winslet).
No one's "due" an Oscar...earn it by producing a great role...