Starring Sophie Nelisse and Geoffrey Rush, The Book Thief was a film that I had major doubts about seeing. The problem is - as you might guess - that I have read the novel, and subsequently it has become one of my favorite books of recent years. Unfortunately, in the grand scheme of things, films that have been adapted from books are rarely as good as the books they are based on, although The Hunger Games is a rare exception!
For me, the film lacked a little of the depth that the book has, and Death as Narrator didn't work in quite the same way, which was the biggest letdown.
That being said, I really enjoyed The Book Thief. I found Sophie Nelisse's portrayal of Liesel to be just as endearing as I could have hoped (my gosh, with those big eyes, how could anyone not find her endearing!?). The way that the make up and hair artists managed to age her was just incredible, because it really was as if Nelisse had aged along with her character, even though we know that it wasn't filmed over that long a period.
I've seen people accusing the film of being too "fluffy" and "cliche", but let's face it - this is Hollywood, it is always going to be that way, whether we like it or not. But, isn't Hollywood one big cliche anyway? In other words - who cares? Films are meant to entertain, and fluffy entertains. It's also important to remember that the film is based on a children's book, so it was never going to get overly political (although, I have to say that the book did "feel" a lot more political than the film did, but that's something else!).
All-in-all, the film wasn't perfect. Yes, it was fluffy and yes, I do think that it could have been more. But on the other hand, I enjoyed it and it did pass "The Coke Test".
Rating: 7 out of 10.
