Users

Now Playing

FA Rankings

Sections

TV Series

TOPs

Awards | Festivals

Information

Click here to copy URL

The Reader

7.2

49,554

Ratings

Add to lists

where to watch

flatrate

rent

buy

ads

free

Pro reviews

Links

Original title: The Reader
Year: 2008
Running time: 123 min.
Country: United States
Director: Stephen Daldry
Screenwriter: David Hare. Novel: Bernhard Schlink
Music: Nico Muhly
Cinematography: Chris Menges, Roger Deakins
Cast: Kate Winslet, David Kross, Ralph Fiennes, Bruno Ganz, Lena Olin, Alexandra Maria Lara, Linda Bassett, Susanne Lothar, Matthias Habich, Ludwig Blochberger, Volker Bruch, Hannah Herzsprung, Jeanette Hain, Jonas JägermeyrSee 4 More
Producer: Co-production United States-Germany;
The Weinstein Company, Mirage Entertainment, Studio Babelsberg
Genre: Drama. Romance | Nazism. Holocaust. Literature. 1950s. 1960s. 1970s. 1980s. 1990s
Synopsis: The Reader opens in post-WWII Germany when teenager Michael Berg (David Kross) becomes ill and is helped home by Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet), a stranger twice his age. Michael recovers from scarlet fever and seeks out Hanna to thank her. The two are quickly drawn into a passionate but secretive affair. Michael discovers that Hanna loves being read to and their physical relationship deepens. Hanna is enthralled as Michael reads to her from "The Odyssey," "Huck Finn" and "The Lady with the Little Dog." Despite their intense bond, Hanna mysteriously disappears one day and Michael is left confused and heartbroken. Eight years later, while Michael is a law student observing crime trials, he is stunned to find Hanna back in his life...

Awards: 2008: Oscar Awards: Best Actress (Kate Winslet). 5 Nominations

2008: Golden Globes: Best Supporting Actress (Kate Winslet). 3 Nominations

2008: Screen Actors Guild: Best Supporting Actress (Kate Winslet)

2009: European Film Awards: Best Actress (Kate Winslet). 3 Nominations

2008: BAFTA Awards: Best Actress (Winslet). 5 Nominations, including Best Film

2008: Critics' Choice Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Winslet). 3 Nominations

Show all

Critics' reviews

"Engrossing, graceful adaptation (...) lucid, absorbing and finally deeply moving"

Ann Hornaday: The Washington Post
"Winslet's fierce, unerring portrayal goes beyond acting, becoming a provocation that will keep you up nights. (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"

Peter Travers: Rolling Stone
"The filmmakers are comfortable showing Hanna's sexual nudity when, really, we need proof of her moral nakedness. Otherwise, what we're told radically alters the meaning of what we see."

Wesley Morris: Boston Globe
"A slow-moving but absorbing story of sexual awakening and moral dilemmas. (...) Though the effort is uneven, it's a well-acted romance that becomes a less compelling courtroom drama. (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of four)."

Claudia Puig: USA Today
"I believe the movie may be demonstrating a fact of human nature: Most people, most of the time, all over the world, choose to go along. We vote with the tribe (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"

Roger Ebert: rogerebert.com
"You have to wonder who, exactly, wants or perhaps needs to see another movie about the Holocaust that embalms its horrors with artfully spilled tears and asks us to pity a death-camp guard"

Manohla Dargis: The New York Times
"I can't forgive this film for being so shallow and so obtuse on such a subject (...) It left a very strange taste in my mouth (…) Rating: ★ (out of 5)"

Peter Bradshaw: The Guardian
"The revelation of evil not only confounds the characters here; it numbs the film, stifles whatever wayward life it once had in it."

Mike McCahill: Telegraph

Movie Soulmates' ratings: Register so you can access movie recommendations tailored to your movie taste.
Friends' ratings: Register so you can check out ratings by your friends, family members, and like-minded members of the FA community.

Ranking Lists Position

11 My Top 10 Movies from 2008 (378)
33 Movies with a Great Female Lead (71)
56 Most Memorable Erotic Movies (27)
64 My Favorite Romantic Dramas (71)
84 My Favorite Book to Film Adaptation (25)
89 Best Movies I've Seen in Theaters Lately (22)

Is the synopsis/plot summary missing? Do you want to report a spoiler, error or omission? Please send us a message.
If you are not a registered user please send us an email to [email protected]

All copyrighted material (movie posters, DVD covers, stills, trailers) and trademarks belong to their respective producers and/or distributors.

For US ratings information please visit: www.mpaa.org www.filmratings.com www.parentalguide.org