The Reader

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this film. Everything about it is well done. The casting is generally solid (Kate Winslet, to steal a line from someone else, gives a performance that can best be described as naked), and the story moves along in a convincing manner. However after it was over my overwhelming thought was "What's the point?" The whole film is set up to make a powerful point about human guilt, absolution, and shame, but really when all was said and done the only real message I could seem to pull from it was that bad stuff happens and there's really nothing to learn from it. I'm sure I'm missing some broader point, and much of the power of the film, but I'm over it. I'm sure most people will find it moving and incredibly powerful, and they are probably right. Also I don't want this to sound like I disliked it, because I didn't. I just didn't quite absorb the impact the film was set up to deliver. I blame the mind numbing effects of rock and roll (and a lifetime of methamphetamine abuse).