Constance (Miou-Miou) reads a novel called The Reader to her boyfriend in bed. In the book, Marie (Miou-Miou) starts a business to read for her clients and places an ad in the newspaper. She gets several clients, each with their own issues.
I would like the directing to be less stagey and more cinematic. It's not surprising that I find Miou-Miou walking briskly through the empty streets to classical music as the most uplifting scenes. It's fine for Constance to be in a stage setup but the rest should be livelier. It doesn't help that reading is not the most compelling visual exercise. Miou-Miou's voice is lovely enough but translating in words does take away some of the joy of reading. I'm sure the French get more out of Marie's reading. It mostly goes over my head and into the ether. I'm probably missing the heart and soul of the movie. This is a French love letter to reading. It's too bad that I can only read it like a first grader.
I would like the directing to be less stagey and more cinematic. It's not surprising that I find Miou-Miou walking briskly through the empty streets to classical music as the most uplifting scenes. It's fine for Constance to be in a stage setup but the rest should be livelier. It doesn't help that reading is not the most compelling visual exercise. Miou-Miou's voice is lovely enough but translating in words does take away some of the joy of reading. I'm sure the French get more out of Marie's reading. It mostly goes over my head and into the ether. I'm probably missing the heart and soul of the movie. This is a French love letter to reading. It's too bad that I can only read it like a first grader.