The Reader

2008
|
123 mins
Trailer
Poster for The Reader

The Reader opens in post-WWII Germany when teenager Michael  becomes ill and is helped home by Hanna (played by Kate... More

Where to watch The Reader

The Reader is available to stream in the United Kingdom... More now on Amazon Video and Apple TV Store and Google Play and YouTube.

The Reader | Ratings & Reviews

"Stephen Daldry's film is sensitively realized and dramatically absorbing, but comes across as an essentially cerebral experience without gut impact."

VarietyVariety

"Pleasingly adult material powered by elegant, muscular performances. A strong adaptation of a slippery novel."

Total FilmTotal Film

"The film is neither about the Holocaust nor about those Germans who grappled with its legacy: it's about making the audience feel good about a historical catastrophe that grows fainter with each new tasteful interpolation."

The New York TimesThe New York Times

"The crucial decision in The Reader is made by a 24-year-old youth, who has information that might help a woman about to be sentenced to life in prison, but withholds it. He is ashamed to reveal his affair with this woman. By making this decision, he shifts the film's focus from the subject of German guilt about the Holocaust and turns it on the human race in general."

Roger EbertRoger Ebert

"Bloodless adaptation of a good novel is almost rescued by Winslet at her best."

New Zealand HeraldNew Zealand Herald

"A thought-provoking and incredibly rewarding five star watch."

NewshubNewshub

"It is only, frankly, the strength of Winslet's performance that rises above conventional surroundings and makes The Reader the experience it should be."

Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times

"An engaging period drama. But German postwar guilt is not the most winning subject matter for the holiday season."

Hollywood ReporterHollywood Reporter

"The epitome of middle-brow 'quality' drama -- admirable within its limitations, but Bernard Schlink's Oprah Winfrey Book Club-approved book wasn't exactly literature, as this isn't exactly cinema."

Empire MagazineEmpire Magazine

"As both an intellectual and emotional experience, this perfectly realised movie is one that will stay with me for a long time."

Dominion PostDominion Post

The Reader | Details

Award winner
Best Actress for Kate Winslet, Academy Awards 2009 and BAFTA Awards 2009. Best Supporting Actress for Kate Winslet, Golden Globes 2009.
Runtime
123
Genre
Drama
Country of origin
USA, Germany

The Reader | Trailers