'The Book Thief' is a respectable but dull adaptation of the hit novel
'The Book Thief' stars Sophie Nélisse, Geoffrey Rush, and Emily Watson.
'The Book Thief' stars Geoffrey Rush (l.) and Sophie Nélisse (r.).
Jules Heath/20th Century Fox/AP
Markus Zusak’s mega-bestseller “The Book Thief’ has, inevitably, been made into a movie, a rather stodgy and old-fashioned one by director Brian Percival.
In war-torn Nazi Germany, Liesel (Sophie Nélisse) is sent to live with foster parents, kindhearted Hans (Geoffrey Rush) and flinty Rosa (Emily Watson), and grows up fast. When the parents hide a Jewish refugee (Ben Schnetzer) in their basement, the boy's and girl’s mutual passion for books takes hold as the world collapses around them.
Nélisse is a captivating young performer, and Rush and Watson give depth to what might otherwise have been mere star turns, but the movie never comes to a boil. It’s respectable, safe, intelligent – and a bit dull. Grade: B- (Rated PG-13 for some violence and intense depiction of thematic material.)