The Reader

The Reader relates the passionate affair between Michael Berg (Ralph Fiennes), a young German schoolboy, and Hanna Schmitz (Cate Winslet), a bus collector. As their relationship develops, Michael is found reading to Hanna on a daily basis until it becomes an almost prerequisite for more intimate intercourse. However, one afternoon Hanna disappears and Michael is forced to continue his life despite her mysterious disappearance. Flash forward a few years and Michael is now studying law and observing the Nuremberg Trials. During a particular trial, Berg is surprised to find none other than Hanna under scrutiny for her role as an SS officer at Auschwitz. Although she could have been cleared of guilt by simply testifying that she was illiterate, Hanna instead accepts a life sentence in jail. After much time Michael is finally moved to send recorded tapes of hundreds of novels to Schmitz, moving her to painstakingly refine her reading skills.

Stephen Daldry explores the human tendencies of shame and pride in this film. It is almost counterintuitive that Hanna would prefer to be labeled a mass murderer and accept a life sentence than to merely admit that she could not in fact read or write and therefore could not have served as the coordinator of such a killing. In addition, the film also sheds light on the morality (or lack thereof) of war time conditions. Throughout the trial scenes, Daldry questions whether or not Hanna and the other SS guards could truly be held accountable for their actions when there was in fact no other manner in which to execute their actions. In fact, they were instructed that it was their duty to their nation, nothing else.

Gangs of New York

On a scale from one to awesome: Respectable.

Martin Scorsese directs this oscar-nominated drama that traces the history of the US crime and corruption in New York present in the late nineteenth century through the savage tale of Amsterdam Vallon's (DiCaprio) revenge on "The Butcher" (Day Lewis). After sixteen or so years of festering with anger in a measly Protestant boarding school in New England due to the assassination of his father, Vallon returns to the Five Points district with the sole intent of murdering "The Butcher". The catch of course is that this man is protected by every organization, from nativist groups such as the Know Nothing Party to political organizations such as Tweed's corrupt Democratic Party. Eventually, Vallon does succeed in avenging the death of his father, but not before countless scenes of gory gang violence and riots that seemingly kill everything and everyone in sight (except Vallon and his lover, Jenny of course).

Ultimately, although the synopsis of Gangs of New York I offered above was succinct, the film itself was not. Just over two hours and forty-five minutes were dedicated to a feature film that even I, a mere amateur with a MacBook, could've edited to last a little over two hours. Though I appreciated its historical value, the excessive violence in the movie distracted viewers from an already excessively drawn out plot line. In addition, John C. Reilly, star of Step-Brothers and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, frequently caused me to laugh at his mere appearance on, proof that comedians such as Reilly and Ferrell should not attempt serious roles such as Gangs of New York or Stranger Than Fiction. Perhaps this is the reason why Scorcese failed to notch an Oscar ten times in 2003.

American Beauty

On a scale of one to awesome: pretty damn awesome. Winner of five Oscars, American Beauty did not fail to entertain, enlighten, or delight. Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, a man with a middle aged crisis, a tendency to jack off in the shower, and frequent fantasies involving rose petals and his teenage daughter's best friend. The most important aspect of the movie is not necessarily its cast or plot line but rather the critique of American society it presents. Almost every facet of American life is portrayed, anything from Carolyn Burnham, part-time mother and full-time workaholic, to Ricky Fitts, semi-stalker who walks around with a camera and deals marijuana. As if this weren't enough, screenwriter Alan Ball introduces the friendly neighborhood gay couple juxtaposed by the all-American military chief, Col. Frank Fitts.

As the movie progresses, the audience journeys literally through the last days of Lester's existence (the movie begins with a reference to his imminent death) and figuratively through numerous controversial topics present in the twenty-first century including divorce, homosexuality, and drug usage. Eventually American Beauty communicates the message that life can often become a series of appearances, as evidenced by Carolyn's drive to appear as the quintessential family or Col. Fitts' homophobic language, and in order to bypass these appearances and live life to its fullest one must admire the immense beauty that is present in the world; a beauty that is present even in a plastic bag caught in the wind. Although most will laugh at this seemingly pointless and obscure clip of an inanimate object, it is important to recognize the message present in such a scene, whatever message that may be. Ultimately, never a dull moment during this film and worthy of the praise it has received.

Pride and Prejudice

On A Scale of One to Awesome: Delectable

Pride and Petulance

In all honesty, I liked Pride and Prejudice. I thought it was a smart and witty film based on a book I’ve never really cared to read. Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) is a proud and spunky young female who doesn’t much care for marriage for the sake of marriage and her sister Jane (Rosamund Pike) is lovely as well, but the rest of her family is absolutely dreadful. For whatever reason their parents remain unwed and can’t agree on a single matter, but live together and have harbored five children, three of which should not be let out into the open world. The mother (Brenda Blethyn) is absolutely obsessed with her daughters getting married to any man who pays a passing glance at one of them. The father (Donald Sutherand) just doesn’t care, which is nice, but when its revealed that he’s a sniveling little girl at the end of the movie, you lose a lot of respect for this man. Then there are the three sisters who pride themselves in being petulant and unnerving, except for the anti-social one who is still annoying. Then there are the four men who wander into these girls’ home and pretty much take over the whole movie. Naturally the girls fall in love with theses gents at first glance because you cannot have a true British romance without this gem. From my first glance at the film cover I knew where the movie was going and who Elizabeth (Knightley) was going to end up snogging. Mr. “Daresay” (Matthew Macfayden) is by far the most pretentious and unlikable character in the movie until about halfway in, which is about the same time you realize this characterization is true for most of the other characters. These men are remarkably good at being creepy and they of course demonstrate this ability throughout the movie. Enough hating. It wasn’t bad at all. In fact, I found myself rather giddy towards the end of the movie where the romances spread their petals and allowed glorious butterflies to land on them and do what butterflies do. The way in which the characters were coupled with one another was absolutely genius. The ballroom dancing was quite irresistible. With the exception of the more annoying characters, which I could easily tune out, I was quite pleased with this film and even considered picking up the novel. Picking it up. Not reading.