Fridae

Gay director Stephen Daldry has made two truly marvelous films, Billy Elliot (2000) and The Hours (2002). But his third outing, The Reader, falters by a wide margin. It is the least convincing and compelling of all his films, and it redeems itself largely by Kate Winslet's powerhouse performance. (Kate won the Golden Globe for this.)

The story begins in 1958 Germany. A teenage boy (David Kross) with a running fever collapses in front of a building. A much-older woman (Kate Winslet) who lives there helps him home. When the boy recovers, he looks for her for thank her. Their physical attraction to each other is undeniable, and they quickly start an affair.

But it's not just sex and companionship that she seeks from him. She also enjoys having him read aloud to her from his books. Soon, he is regaling her with classic novels by Homer, Chekhov, D.H. Lawrence and the like. The relationships grows stronger, but then ends abruptly when she leaves town without saying a word.

Many years later, as a law student watching a Nazi war trial, he is shocked to see her again - this time on trial for her role as a concentration camp guard responsible for the deaths of Holocaust prisoners�

Based on Bernhard Schlink's 1995 bestseller, The Reader is a sentimental tale that deals with guilt and redemption. Kate Winslet's character is ultimately a stand-in for the German public who stood by and did nothing while the Jews were being massacred by the Nazis during World War II.

Unfortunately, for a story that deals with something as tragic and complex as the Holocaust, The Reader resolves itself all too neatly and conventionally, leaving the audience bewildered and dissatisfied. The film seems to suggest that education (or reading books) is our only defence against evil and brutality - a pat conclusion that is both smug and false.

The Reader's main saving grace is Kate Winslet's beautiful performance, which reveals much more even in its silence than the movie ever does.