The Reading Room

A widower respects the wishes of his deceased wife and clears out all of the books from his home library in order to open a reading room in an underprivileged community. The film chronicles the struggles and success stories of William Campbell (James Earl Jones) to support young people to engage their minds in the peaceful learning environment of the reading room.

This thoughtful film demonstrates why James Earl Jones is one of the finest actors on the planet. From start to finish, Jones provided the rock solid foundation for the human dramas of those young people affected by William and his reading room.

A fine supporting cast, including Joanna Cassidy in a sensitive performance as a caring teacher, and the brisk pacing of the film by director Georg Stanford Brown make this made-for-television film a moving and memorable experience.

The film offers an important message about the importance of reading, addressing learning disabilities, and the central role played by teachers in the developmental lives of our children. The motivation of Jones's character in opening the reading room was inspired by the words of his late wife, "More Care, Less Hate." In today's world, those words could not be more timely or more important.

The Reading Room, with James Earl Jones in the lead role, is a fine example of why Mr Jones is one of the finest actors alive.

As a wealthy widower who is bringing to fruition his deceased wife's wishes that their personal library be transformed into a public "reading room", the actor, best known for his voice over talents as the ominous Darth Vader in the Star Wars saga, here displays a very believable portrayal of a man whose compassion for others leads him into some new albeit unexpected ground.

The aspect of his portrayal that I find most appealing here, is his fine ability for underplaying the role. This is "perfect" acting, and very few pull it off as well as James Earl Jones.

Never over the top in his portrayal, one gets the feeling in viewing this movie, that underneath that exterior, deep down he really loves those children and the thugs who make a shambles of his reading room. In fact, one WANTS to believe that, and Jones does not disappoint.

Amazingly, he does it without any outright displays of affection, such as hugging and such, rather he brings out this quality through simple things, such as a gesture, a subtle facial expression, etc.

Superb acting is replete with these almost subliminal subtleties, and James Earl Jones here does it with fine style and finesse.

This movie is a must see if only for his acting abilities. In fact, I would go so far as to say that this film may some day be remembered as the crowning artistic achievement in Mr. Jones long, distinguished career.

However there are many more qualities apparent in this film, bringing it to the level of fine art, beyond the scope of this breviloquent review, which will make it highly worth your viewing time.

James Earl Jones is an exceptional actor and his portrayal in this role is very comforting. I enjoyed this movie very much, for the following reasons: First it shed light on what a "reading room" is or should be about, with its attendant focus on the values of being able to read, study, and clearly articulate one's thoughts. I also liked the gentle pace and ambiance of this well-constructed story and movie production. It reinforced good family values and the qualities which make a man a man and a gentleman. Color and race had little to do with it; his criteria were his genuine love for others and a deep desire to help them prepare for life in every way he could. It is the story of how one man overcame every opposition to his dream and ended up giving a dream to many others who were disadvantaged. This is true godly character and should be a lesson to every one of us. It is a tribute to man's indomitable spirit; don't ever give up on your dream, if it is good and right!

These comments are from the perspective of a literacy educator and teacher educator. I found this movie by accident as I was doing the normal flip through the channels until I find something worth watching. I missed the first part of the movie and joined in when a teacher brought a student who 'couldn't' read to the Professor for help. While the movie is a nice, heartwarming story, it really a movie that moved me to begin to look for opportunities to provide a reading room in my little town. My little town may be too small for one similar to his but the premise will be the same - a safe place to come if you can't read, want to learn to read, need help with exams and test-taking, or any literacy issue. The Reading Room shows us how to do something - give something back - for our own communities that is more than give some money. It promotes the democratic ideals of our nation by providing access to and opportunities for engaging with books. In our poorest neighborhoods it is the limited access to and extremely limited funds for books and literacy resources in general that help create and perpetuate disconnections between academic success and under served populations.

This actually wasn't bad for a Hallmark Campbell soup pre-Christmas sentimental tale, which of course is a lot a caveats. James Earl Jones is a retired African-American businessman who returns to the ghetto where he grew up to open a free "reading room." This was his dying wife's last wish, and its prescience is revealed to him, and to us, as time goes on. The protagonist is surprised to find that, though a native, he is regarded as an unwelcome outsider by many elements within his old neighborhood. James Earl Jones gives an outstanding performance which saves the film from being merely sappy, and Douglas Spain, as his young and often reluctant protégé, is a real stand-out. The limited budget of a made-for-TV movie is evident, but it was used prudently and the result is a warm story that's easy to watch.