The Book Thief, 2013.
Directed by Brian Percival.
Starring Sophie Nelisse, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, Nico Liersch, Roger Allam snd Kirsten Block.
SYNOPSIS:
While subjected to the horrors of World War II Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. In the basement of her home, a Jewish refugee is being sheltered by her adoptive parents.
The Book Thief, an adaptation of the hugely popular book, is the story of a young German girl growing up during the Second World War. The girl, Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nélisse), discovers a love of books thanks to the kindly Hans (Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech) who adopts her.
While the idea of a family drama film set during a serious event like a World War is not impossible (see the brilliant Goodnight Mister Tom), the balance has to be very precise and it is no small task. Sadly, director Brian Percival (Downton Abbey), for whom the film is his feature debut, does not manage this.
The problem is The Book Thief feels like two separate films. One is the coming-of-age story of Liesel, as she learns to read and bonds with her new family and the locals, including the rather charismatic child actor Nico Liersch (Blackout) as football-mad Rudy. The other is a harder-edged drama about living in Nazi Germany; Liesel’s family attending a book-burning ceremony, later they take in a Jewish refugee, and in the film’s most startling scene, a group of schoolchildren sing a racist nationalistic anthem in front of a Nazi flag. While the coming-of-age stuff is a bit sickly sweet and twee, the dramatic scenes and the depictions of living in Nazi Germany are generally very effective and moving, despite the dodgy German actions used by the cast.
The problem arises when these two stories come together, it becomes very jarring. Other directorial choices add to this dissonance: one of the more bizarre choices is that the film is narrated by voice of Death, as in the Grim Reaper. While the sultry voice of Roger Allam (The Thick of It) is always great to hear, it’s just very strange listening to a family drama narrated by Death itself.
The acting in the film is also a mixed bag. Liesel’s parents are played by Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson (War Horse), a phenomenal pair of actors who are always great to watch, especially in this. On the other hand, the child actors aren’t always great. It feels harsh to bash child actors, as they are still trying to learn the craft, but the utterly wooden performance by Sophie Nélisse as the film’s main actor is very problematic; she reacts the same way to a bad bowl of soup as to the death of her little brother in the first minutes of the film. This bad acting makes the unbearably slow pace of the film even worse.
Ultimately, it’s just not a great film. It’s too childish to work as a historical drama, and too grim and serious to succeed as a family film. A very disappointing experience.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Luke Graham is a writer and works in newspaper production. If you enjoyed this review, follow him @LukeWGraham and check out his blog here.
Originally published March 18, 2014. Updated April 11, 2018.
