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The Reader (2008)

Director: Stephen Daldry

Time Out rating

Average user rating

48 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Ralph Fiennes is Michael Berg, the present-day narrator of this film and Bernard Schlink’s 1995 novel, a middle-aged German lawyer whom we first encounter making breakfast for a younger bedfellow but refusing to exchange intimacy for commitment. We reconvene in 1958 and 15-year-old Michael (David Kross), a clever child from an academic family, loses his virginity to taciturn Hanna (Kate Winslet), a mysterious, 36-year-old trolleybus worker whom he encounters in the street. He falls in love; she enjoys hearing him read from Tolstoy until she disappears one day without warning. Several years later, Michael, a law student, encounters Hanna in a new context – one that reveals devastating facts about his former lover. A new, unusual relationship emerges, at a distance, and one that stretches over many years. To reveal more would damage the debate at the film’s heart: an argument that pitches feelings against facts and, necessarily, asks more questions than it answers.

David Hare’s unshowy, thoughtful screenplay, Stephen Daldry’s unfussy direction and Roger Deakins and Chris Menges’s impressive cinematography are faithful to the detail and tenor of Schlink’s novel, which is a complex beast in simple clothing. ‘The Reader’ has been called a Holocaust film but that’s not entirely accurate. It would be better tagged a post-Holocaust work as it pitches itself between the known facts of that cataclysm and the unanswerable philosophical questions of its fallout relating to responsibility, law, justice and forgiveness; all the while considering education, and literacy, as crucial to those debates. Its dynamic is generational: Schlink and Berg are second-generation voices, embroiled in first-generation issues, addressing a third-generation audience. Its issues are infinite and moveable. It’s a bold and challenging work.

Author: Dave Calhoun 2008-12-30 17:45:08

Time Out London Issue 2002, Jan 1-7, 2009

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User reviews of this film

Valerie Livina said...

Posted on Jan 13 2009 14:18 Yesterday, Jupiter moved from the sign of his detriment Capricorn into Aquarius. Jupiter’s transit in Capricorn took more than a year, and as I wrote earlier, I expected his influence on cinema to be rather disappointing: this was time to make money rather than create masterpieces.
One can hardly recall a masterpiece among all those hancocks of 2008, and even Mamma Mia, with great ABBA songs and ugly voices of the actors, was an artificial production whose main aim was to earn (certainly very favourable for ABBA sales).
All the major blockbusters came out to be too dark, secondary and unimpressive. In the BBC annual film review, I noticed phrase “failed to make much of impression”, which is quite indicative.
I might have called a masterpiece the film released last week, “The Reader”, but even this one is an illustration of the Jupiter in Capricorn: Cardano says on this constellation in aphorism 2.45 of Lilly’s edition about “power under pretence of justice” with “unfortunate issue” – come and see the film to understand how true this is.
Now, as Jupiter is in Aquarius (and weak, being peregrine yet), look at the oncoming movies to find which of them are weird enough to indicate the planetary change…
http://vlivina.blogspot.com/2009/01/cinemundane-ii.html

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Trevor Gee said...

Posted on Jan 13 2009 13:56 A very complex story brilliantly portrayed on screen, able to handle significant post war issues very well. The stony defiance of the defendants at the trial and the meeting afterwards between Michael Burg and the survivor were excellently acted. Hannah Schmidt played by Kate Winslett is clever and penetrating and her behaviour so unpredicatble, the viewer is held in constans limbo until the end. And yet the coda of the film is beautiful. Finally, my disgust at her war time behaviour fails to extinguish the desire for her to discover a harmony she is never able to exhibit

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Ric_Braz said...

Posted on Jan 13 2009 11:35 One of the best films I have ever seen, beautifully shot, acted and a fabulous storyline. To suggest Winslet & Kross did not ring true is just nonsense and the idea that it did not build up to anything I fear likewise. An incredibly thought provoking film that most professional critics have completely misread as some apology of guards in a concenntration camp and German guilt blah blah. It is clearly about a boy who as a man has never got over his first relationship and the fact that it finished abruptly only concentrates this. It is for this reason that he is unable to have long term relationships with other women throughout his life, no one can match his earlier feelings. These feelings become incredibly confused when the truth comes out. It was one paced but then that was one of the beauties of it and you made your own mind up without having teh normal Hollywood moral messages etc. that are so boring in many films today. I am normally over critical of films & plays but this was an absolute gem.

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beata said...

Posted on Jan 12 2009 21:37 I liked this movie

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Dorota said...

Posted on Jan 10 2009 23:08 A very good movie. Definitely worth seeing.

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Lala said...

Posted on Jan 10 2009 21:12 Wonderful, just wonderful.

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Mike said...

Posted on Jan 09 2009 14:46 Tim and Chris, lighten up - this was nothing short of a very good film. End of.

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Kellie said...

Posted on Jan 09 2009 14:14 Nice one Tim just ruin it for everyone who hasn't seen it

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mary from inverurie said...

Posted on Jan 08 2009 08:13 Brilliant film. Kate seemed a wrong choice in the beginning but showed her true skills in time. Michael was a great choice. A film to ponder over later. A must see......

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clare said...

Posted on Jan 07 2009 23:40 this was a great cast but unfortuanley the film could of bin a lot better. the film kept buildin up n up but nothin ever really happened so i was leavin abit disappointed. like i said the acting was brill but the story pretty pointless

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John said...

Posted on Jan 07 2009 21:41 excellent film everyone must see, although when Hanna was older she could have been played by an older actor instead of makeup for Kate Winslet.

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Jim said...

Posted on Jan 06 2009 20:34 Interesting reviews, on the basis of which I'll go and see the film.
Refreshing to see other than the usual:
'Brill film - 10 stars. Haven't seen it yet, me and my mate Sha' are going to see it tomorrow. Hope to snog some blokes after! Luv, Tracy'
Jim

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Madison said...

Posted on Jan 05 2009 12:16 The actor who plays Michael is really good and utterly convincing but it would have been better with a less well known actress in the role of Hanna - i never really got away the feeling that i was watching "kate winslet acting" rather than the character. it doesnt help either when films try to age a character by slapping a load of unconvincing make up on. They should have cast another actress as the older Hanna. All in all its a thoughtful if not quite moving film that stayed with me for some hours after leaving the cinema.

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PERFECT DAY said...

Posted on Jan 05 2009 09:42 Recommended despite the miscasting of Kate Winslett who simply tries to hard to be her character. The emotional pay off at the end is well worth a trip to the cinema.

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Mark said...

Posted on Jan 04 2009 11:57 Thoughtful film but unfortuately fails to hit the mark. Winslet is badly cast and doesn't really pull off her character. The film jumps back and forth over so many years, you're left confused and I for one felt the initial hookup between Winslet and "the kid" didn't ring true. Go and see it but don't expect wonders and you might come away just liking it at best. I'd say it was 3.5 out of 6 but as it's New Year and I'm feeling generous, I'll say 4...!!

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