LOG: The Reader

Upon entering my local, neighborhood cheap (*AHEM* 'second run') theater this evening, I was struck with a dilemma; I had purchased my ticket for Doubt at 9:40, but found that The Reader was also playing at 9:45. I paused between the two theaters a moment, and weighed my options. Two hand-wringing dramas, neither of which figured to hold me a very captive audience. After a bit of thought, I decided that even the vaguest prospect of hot-and-heaviness courtesy of Kate Winslet was enough to undo my admittedly weak desire to watch Streep and Seymour-Hoffman act it up, Nazi subplot be damned

Well, I got my hot-and-heaviness. And I also got a by-the-numbers literary adaptation, co-starring that most by-the-numbers actor of them all, Ralph Fiennes. Even its most moving moments were badly contrived. Winslet does a nice job with her haggish, slightly sexy hausfrau, no question, but that whole Nazi business just felt tacked on. More than once I wondered if I had picked the right movie.. but I'm pretty confident I did. I'd rather watch Winslet over-compensate for an underwritten role then watch the Doubt folks do it the other way around.

I left as I entered, unenthused, unmoved, and ready to go home. A glance at the "coming soon" posters, however, with such future presentations as Milk and Coraline, was just enough to lift my spirits.. Indeed, thankfully, there will be better days.