A fifteen year old boy has an affair with a 35ish woman who, it turns out has a dark past. There were three parts to this film. The first, the affair, was beautifully handled...well-acted, shot, just the right amount of sexuality shown to lay the groundwork for later developments.
The second, the trial, nicely dramatized the way 1960's Germany confronted it's horrendous past. The combination of personal and social trauma was well depicted.
The third section was a mess. Ralph Fiennes shows up as an inarticulate, brooding lawyer (!) who takes the story in several directions, none of them enlightening or consistent with the earlier threads. If they had stopped at 1 1/2 hours they would have had a good film.
KW won best actor for her performance here and she deserved it. During the first third she has to portray troubled ambivalence; in the second, wracking guilt and in the third she ages dramatically and alters her body language. It was a challenging role and she did it well.
And, so...a mixed bag. Nice try...no cigar.
5
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