3 Films

In the last week I have seen three films at the Picturehouse in Exeter, starting the year as I mean to go on!



The Reader

I went to see this one by myself, Ivonne was slightly worried that it would not live up to the book, and although it was not as good as the book (what films are?) it was certainly a faithful retelling of the story, and caught a lot of the original spirit of the book. It is annoying that reviews keep saying that Winslet plays a Nazi Guard, because that is not what the film is about, the film is about a love affair, and mostly about guilt about the past. I hope this wins some Oscars, as it has been rather overlooked in the recent crop of films.



Slumdog Millionaire

The most talked about film of the moment, and for good reason. Not, as the advertising would have you believe, the Feel Good Movie of the Year, although it does have a happy ending. This film is extraordinary, it follows a clever story telling device of questions in the quiz show being the way of the main characters life story being told. It is in places brutal, but over all makes you feel that life is good.



Frost/Nixon

This is a story that predates my birth by just a year, but I was totally gripped. The motives behind Frost wanting the interview stay fairly shrouded, but the themes of success, fame and notoriety are clear in both characters. The acting of the support cast is shoddy in places, but overall this is a thought provoking film that will pique interest in part of our recent history that you perhaps don't know much about.