The Reader

What a fine story ... I can't imagine how anyone can craft such characters and such a plot.

Now, I've not read the book, but how I enjoyed the movie.

It took awhile ... at first, what is this? As the young Michael Berg (David Kross) has a summer affair with Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet). From the get-to, you know that something is wrong, though tragic is the better word. Hanna is searching for something, and the young man is drawn into her sorrow.

The acting is superb on all counts. David Kross brings to life the angst and the lust of a 15-year old boy, both innocent and madly in love.

Kate Winslet - incredible. Her face is the face of sorrow and hidden depths. A story that needs to be told, but can only be hinted at.

As they lay entwined in one another's arms, she has him read to her, one book after the other, bringing tears to her eyes at times.

And then, one day, she's gone, and that's the last of it until Micheal, now a law student, attends a trial of concentration camp guards charged with the death of 300 Jews allowed to burn to death in a church on fire, the result of Allied bombs.

The law students and their professor attend the trial, and there sits Hanna, along with others, charged with the heinous crime.

When questioned, she's totally innocent - "They were under our guard. We couldn't let them out. What would have happened?"

When the judge reviews the written documents, he asks her if she wrote the report. He asks for a sample of her handwriting, a table and pencil put in front of her. She looks at it, and says, "It's not necessary; I wrote the report."

Her secret? She can neither read nor write, and though a simple confession of that fact could have saved her, years of hiding it, years of shame about it, compel her to maintain the secret, and she alone is given a life-time sentence. The others, only a few years.

For Micheal Berg, it all falls into place - and for the audience as well ... in some tragic fashion, was her love for the boy some means of atonement? As it turns out, she made prisoners do the same - read to her. Is she a monster? Is she a tormented soul? Somewhere in between?

Michael Berg goes to the prison to tell her that he knows her secret, but at the last minute, walks away. He could have entered what he knew, but he didn't. So begins another secret! His.

After a failed marriage in the midst of his own law career (now older, played by an amazing Ralph Fiennes), he reaches out to her - he sends her tapes - he reads to her, book after book, and in time, she begins the arduous process of learning how to read and write. It's quite extraordinary how this unfolds in the movie.

But I've already told you too much, though I've left a good deal for you to see on your own.

Don't miss this powerful film under the direction of Stephen Daldry.

The Duchess

Frankly, I went with some reservations ...

I had heard, "The Duke is everything in this film."

"It's all about hair and wigs."

I was wonderfully surprised.

The film drags a bit at times, but it's a giant performance by everyone ... with a lot of character development - we get to know these people, what makes them tick, and their inner reflections.

A powerful drama about loyalty and commitment - what it means to be a family, a parent, a lover ... and "judge not."

The Duke is terrific ... played by accomplished actor Ralph Fiennes, his Duke is a study in both debauchery and hope. That a man as powerful as this, who never negotiates, who never makes a deal, should find some remorse, and something beyond his Captain-Ahab like obsession with a male heir, is a study in redemption ... if not complete, at least in part.

The Duchess, Keira Knightley, is a remarkable portrait of a mother's love - and what one might do in order to provide and protect her children. She exudes fire and intellect - a great passion, a great sense of self. She's a young lady thrust into prominence as the Duke's wife; after three girls, now what? She falls in love with another young man, a rising politician, but what about the family. The Duke treats her ruthlessly; her heart aches for love. In the end, we see that her love, her maturity, sparks an admiration, if not love, in the Duke as well.

I expected a lighter-weight performance from Ms. Knightley (don't ask me why), but she delivered a forceful, nuanced, dramatic performance - her character, with very much the feel of Princess Diana, is caught, as women were in that time, and to some extent, still are - in a male-dominated world. What can one do to survive with integrity, and with any regard for the future?

As much as any of us would like to cast care to the wind and follow our fortune, life isn't that easy - not then, not now. Responsibility creeps in, and ultimately wins the day. As it should. In order to be mature, whole human beings, it's not about every whim and need that arises, but a larger picture of commitment and hope, and sometimes, the greatest of all sacrifices are needed to sustain the greater love.

Hayley Atwell portrays Bess, a lover of the Duke, a woman who sacrifices herself to see her children. A threat to the Duchess, they ultimately work out an arrangement, and ultimately, the Duchess finds herself in a situation for which she roundly judged and condemned Bess. A reminder that what goes around comes around.

Charlotte Rampling portrays the mother of the Duchess - a woman ever-so wise about survival. In a world utterly dominated by the whims of men, how does a woman of character make it? She brings plenty of strength to this role, a study in power when there is no power at all.

If you're looking for a fine film, a period-piece for sure, what with plenty of wigs and big dresses, this is for you. Don't let the big dresses deter you.

This is a fine film with plenty of fine acting, and a great soul-searching story to boot.