Striving to make a grand, important film is a noble gesture, but there are many pitfalls. There’s certainly nothing wrong with the performances or intent of The Book Thief, but one can’t help but find the finished product heavy-handed in its treatment and ultimately inauthentic. In their quest for awards glory, some movies just end up trying too hard.
Adapted from the bestseller by Markus Zusak, the story follows Liesel (Sophie Nelisse), a young girl living in Nazi Germany during the Second World War. After the death of her brother, Liesel’s mother sends the young girl to live with good natured Hans (Geoffrey Rush) and his stern but caring wife Rosa (Emily Watson). The protagonist struggles with the life change and is teased at school for being unable to read, but she befriends a schoolmate neighbor named Rudy (Nico Liersch). Hans also begins teaching Liesel to read and she develops an voracious appetite, secretly stealing a text from a book burning in the village square. Soon after, she’s introduced to Max (Ben Schnetzer), the son of Hans’s Jewish friend. Liesel must help her foster parents hide the guest in their tiny basement and protect him from authorities.
As expected, the cast is strong. Rush is very likable as the sweet Hans, more at home teaching and playing with Liesel than working a steady job. Watson also provides some humor from her character’s dour demeanor. And there are some nice moments as the young girl befriends Max and comes to witness and understand the horrors he’s being forced to live through. These scenes provide the most poignant moments, but some of their impact is diminished by technical factors. Many scenes in the film are peppered with dialogue that’s too on-the-nose. Visually, everything appears overly clean and polished looking. This slickness seems at contrast with the grim themes presented.
Another debilitating problem is that there is too much going on. A major character is conscripted for war, Liesel must contend with a school bully and interact with the mayor’s mysterious wife, while Rudy is ostracized for wanting to emulate Olympian runner Jesse Owens. Additionally, Liesel learns that she has a gift for telling stories, begins to write and of course, comes to make a moral judgment on the villainy and cruelty being perpetrated by the Nazi party. Shockingly, a few of these subplots are developed well after the Max’s storyline comes to a close. Alas, once he exits, it soon feels as if the movie itself is simply meandering towards the finish line.
This is very apparent in the last half hour. Scene after scene begins and ends with slow fade outs and fade ins, often tricking the viewer into thinking that the movie is wrapping up. One can’t help but be distanced from the big emotional climax as a result. Admittedly, the overstuffed final third must have been adapted in this manner to keep the book’s fans happy by including as much of its content as possible, but as a film it simply feels bloated and unfocused.
There are definitely some interesting moments and performances in this well intentioned project, but The Book Thief never quite reaches the emotional heights that it’s source material promises. Fans of the book may well be pleased, but newcomers to this story may find themselves distanced and eventually staring at their watches.