In Stephen Daldry's recently-opened The Reader, 18 year-old David Kross and 45 year-old Ralph Fiennes play younger and older versions of the same German-born character. Except Kross looks a lot more like a young version of Val Kilmer. His eyes clearly lack the wet, soulful, vaguely sad quality that Fiennes' peepers have. So why cast him (or Fiennes) if they don't even faintly resemble each other?

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on December 11, 2008 at 1:54 PM
comment #1
oranthal james
says ...
shut up jeffrey
Posted by oranthal james
at December 11, 2008 2:45 PM
comment #2
NDH
says ...
He doesn't look THAT different from Fiennes, at least not enough to take you out of the story. And frankly, I wouldn't buy someone like Kilmer in the role (as much as I love the guy). Besides, Kross and Fiennes are both so good in the film that it's very hard not to buy that they are the same character throughout.
Posted by NDH
at December 11, 2008 2:48 PM
comment #3
Chase Kahn
says ...
Ralph Fiennes' nephew plays Tom Riddle in the new Harry Potter movie -- I think he's like 10 years old, though
Posted by Chase Kahn
at December 11, 2008 3:10 PM
comment #4
Sonic Boom
says ...
The filmmakers didn't care because you're one of just three moviegoers in the world who actually care about this sort of thing.
Posted by Sonic Boom
at December 11, 2008 4:02 PM
comment #5
Circumvrent
says ...
Sonic Boom is wrong - I think when two or more actors playing the same part don't like alike, it's distracting to the audience, even subconsciously.
Funnily enough, I notice it more when people really look like they're related, like Mel Gibson and Joaquin Pheonix in SIGNS, then when they don't, like in most movies.
Posted by Circumvrent
at December 11, 2008 8:20 PM
comment #6
BurmaShave
says ...
Nothing will ever be as bad as Paul Bettany and McDowell playing the younger and older version of the same man in GANGSTER NO. 1. This is pretty distracting though. David Kross would grow up into Karel Roden from RUNNING SCARED.
http://eur.i1.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com/xp/premiere_photo/20050905/15/3132264689.jpg
Or maybe more a more palatable choice, as I've mentioned before, would have been Stellan Skarsgard.
Posted by BurmaShave
at December 11, 2008 8:35 PM
comment #7
longrunner
says ...
This seems to me to be a shallow concern.
Posted by longrunner
at December 11, 2008 9:22 PM
comment #8
btwnproductions
says ...
Re: men and girls, from last week. Says Winslet to New York magazine: "I had a relationship from the age of 15 to nearly 20 with a man who was almost thirteen years older than me. He was very much the love of my life during those years."
Posted by btwnproductions
at December 11, 2008 9:30 PM
comment #9
scooterzz
says ...
re: men and girls...bettie page has died.....she wasn't as lucky as winslet in the 'older men' dept.
Posted by scooterzz
at December 11, 2008 9:46 PM
comment #10
Devin Faraci
says ...
The problem I had is that the film jumps from the younger kid in law school in the 60s to ten years later in the 70s and it's old-looking Fiennes.
Posted by Devin Faraci
at December 12, 2008 1:11 AM
comment #11
janee
says ...
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Best regards,Jane, CEO of high availability computing
Posted by janee
at May 19, 2011 4:08 AM