The Reader: After hearing that The Reader made its way to the big dance at the Academy Awards (nominated for best picture and 5 other awards), I put it at the top of my must see list. The story takes place in post World War II Germany and spans over 25 years. It is told during three different time periods. We begin in the late 1950’s when a teenage Michael Berg begins to have an affair with Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet), a woman who is twice his age. The affair lasts for a summer and while Hanna is older and not as emotionally attached, young Michael falls deeply in love. Besides an abundance of nudity, this section of the film also reveals that Hanna loves being read to. When Hanna picks up and leaves, Michael figures he will never see her again. We then jump ahead about 10 years with Michael now a law student who sits in on a Nazi war trial against several women. One of the women being accused is Hanna Schmitz. The third time period in the story takes place in the 1980’s with an older Michael (Ralph Fiennes) who is still in contact with Hanna. The movie has a unique viewpoint of the Holocaust and contains a potent love story. However, the finale actually came across as a little clunky on screen. Winslet’s performance while good was not even her best of the year (see Revolutionary Road). So in closing, while I found the story to be very captivating I still would not have had this in my “best of the year category”. I would have preferred to see The Dark Knight or even Revolutionary Road get a nod in lieu of The Reader. Ry's Rating: B
If this movie had parents they would be: Schindler’s List & Atonement
With a running time of 123 minutes
This film is rated R
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