Anne Frank Movie Review

So what happened after Anne Frank got busted and stopped writing her diary? The TV movie Anne Frank tells us not only of her days in the annex but also what happened afterwards -- namely, being shipped off to Auschwitz. Based not on her famed diary but on Melissa Muller's biography of Anne, the film also covers the time before the Franks sequestered themselves in the hiding, when Anne was just a preteen worried about boys.

Hannah Taylor-Gordon is an interesting find for the role of Anne, her few credits belying her ability before the camera. The story itself is, at three hours, far too long to carry our attention -- most notably because the scenes in the annex are overly repetitious and can't carry the hour and a half they are asked to do. Although Ben Kingsley is quite good in these scenes, starring as Anne's father, he can't cut through the plodding repetition. After only 10 minutes, we get it -- it was really claustrophobic up there.

More unfortunately, Anne Frank makes the cardinal sin of making Anne Frank unlikable. She's snotty and whiny with a sense of entitlement that doesn't fit her situation. Worst of all, however, is Lili Taylor, who overacts so horribly she cheapens Anne's story and all but ruins the movie (thank God she's a minor character). Brenda Blethyn is equally unlikable here, playing her character as if she's a permanent drunk.

Better films about Anne Frank have been made, but with her story, it's one of an all-too-common case where you really ought to read the book.

Aka Anne Frank: The Whole Story.