The Book Thief: A little too smooth around the edges

We’re not ones to quote other reviews but we laughed out loud at the summary of one review of The Book Thief, the new film based on the popular book by Markus Zusak: “Book Thief is tasteful but dull.” Well, yes, it certainly is. The sentimental period piece set in Nazi Germany is also perhaps a little too pretty and overly simplistic for a Holocaust film.

One of the film’s real flaws is that it retains the book’s narrator, Death. Voiced by Roger Allam, Death is an extraneous character that appears at the film’s beginning and then essentially disappears until the end. He philosophizes about humans in a rather pedantic manner too. Simply put, he gets in the way of the story about young orphan Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nelisse) and the trials and tribulations that she endures with her surrogate parents Rosa (Emily Watson) and Hans (Geoffrey Rush).

When we first meet Liesel, she’s watched her brother die and been abandoned by her mother. Alone in a scary world, she doesn’t even how to read. But with the able assistance of good-natured Hans, she picks up the skill rather quickly and soon becomes a veritable bookworm. After the family takes in Max (Ben Schnetzer), a Jewish friend of the family hiding from the Nazis, Liesel sustains him by reading out loud. They develop a bond that’s built on trust and encouragement. The same can be said of Liesel’s relationship with young Rudy (Nico Liersch), a blond-haired neighbor boy who immediately takes to Liesel.

Despite its tendency to sugar coat the atrocities of war, the film isn’t without its tragic moments, some of which are delivered with a real tug to the heart. When the movie succeeds, it’s largely due to the strong cast. Rush and Watson turn in solid fairy tale performances and wide-eyed newcomer Nelisse is fantastic as young Liesel. She plays the shy girl with a precociousness that’s quite believable and puts the emphasis on the well-crafted nature of the story.