The Reader
BBBB.5
(out of 5)
Ralph Fiennes is recently divorced and having trouble relating to his daughter; when he finally reflects on the reasons for his emotional disconnect, he flashes back to when he was fifteen (and played by David Kross), growing up in 1950s Germany, and the love affair he had one summer with an older tram collector (Kate Winslet). The two of them make love constantly, spending their time at her apartment with the only breaks taken being her requests that he read to her the books he is studying in school. At the end of the summer she disappears, and he doesn’t see her for years until it is under the most devastating circumstances: he attends war crime trials with his law class and sees her on the stand, defending herself for the time she spent as an S.S. guard at Auschwitz during the war. From there spins a harrowing tale of secrets, tragedies and the fluid values of guilt and redemption as our hero undergoes an experience that will haunt him for the rest of his life. Stephen Daldry once again teams up with David Hare, who adapted The Hours with him, for an intelligent, classy and heartbreaking drama that will affect you as deeply for its tragic elements (morals decided by circumstance) as well as its positive ones (the saving power of art). The performances are as strong as the writing and direction, with most of the praise going to the unforgettable Winslet; she eschews Hollywood glamour without the slightest regret and manages to light an incredibly erotic charge on the screen. At this point praising her work is far too de rigeur to bother with detail, she has been proving herself a knockout talent for fourteen years, but it’s worth stating that Winslet plays this character down to the bone; the elements of this film that will remain with you after it’s over will come in no unsubstantial part from her work. Also features Lena Olin making an incredible impression with a small cameo.
Directed by Stephen Daldry
Screenplay by David Hare, based on the book Der Vorleser by Bernhard Schlink
Cinematography by Roger Deakins, Chris Menges
Produced by Donna Gigliotti, Anthony Minghella, Redmond Morris, Sydney Pollack
Music by Nico Muhly
Production Design by Brigitte Broch
Costume Design by Donna Maloney, Ann Roth
Film Editing by Claire Simpson
Cast Tags: Alexander Kasprik, Alexandra Maria Lara, Alissa Wilms, Anne-Kathrin Gummich, Ava Eusepi-Harris, Barbara Philipp, Beata Lehmann, Benjamin Trinks, Bettina Scheuritzel, Bruno Ganz, Burghart Klaußner, Carmen-Maja Antoni, David Kross, Fabian Busch, Florian Bartholomäi, Frieder Venus, Friederike Becht, Fritz Roth, Hannah Herzsprung, Hans Hohlbein, Heike Hanold-Lynch, Hendrik Arnst, Hildegard Schroedter, Jacqueline Macaulay, Jürgen Tarrach, Jeanette Hain, Joachim Tomaschewsky, Jonas Jägermeyr, Karoline Herfurth, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Block, Lena Lessing, Lena Olin, Linda Bassett, Ludwig Blochberger, Margarita Broich, Marie Gruber, Marie-Anne Fliegel, Martin Brambach, Matthias Habich, Max Mauff, Merelina Kendall, Michael Schenk, Moritz Grove, Nadja Engel, Petra Hartung, Rainer Sellien, Ralph Fiennes, Robin Gooch, Susanne Lothar, Sylvester Groth, Torsten Michaelis, Vanessa Berthold, Vijessna Ferkic, Volker Bruch
Academy Award
Best Actress in a Leading Role (Kate Winslet as “Hanna Schmitz”)
Nominations
Best Cinematography (Chris Menges, Roger Deakins)
Best Directing (Stephen Daldry)
Best Picture (Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Donna Gigliotti, Redmond Morris, producers)
Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) (David Hare)
Golden Globe Award
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Kate Winslet)
Nominations
Best Motion Picture-Drama
Best Director (Stephen Daldry)
Best Screenplay (David Hare)
Screen Actors Guild Award
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role (Kate Winslet)
British Academy Award
Best Leading Actress (Kate Winslet)
Nominations
Best Film
Best Screenplay – Adapted
Best Cinematography
David Lean Award for Direction (Stephen Daldry)
European Film Award
Best European Actress (Kate Winslet)
Nominations
Best European Film
Best European Actor (David Kross)
