STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED

Classic

Excellent

Good

Fair

Tragic

FILM DETAILS

Certificate 15

Cast Kate Winslet Ralph Fiennes David Kross

Directors Steven Daldry

Screenwriters

Running Time 124 minutes

The Reader (15)

Plot
In 1958, 15 year-old Michael Berg (Kross) has an affair with an older woman, Hanna (Winslet). Later, as a law student, he attends a war-crimes trial — and finds Hanna accused of mass-murder. As an adult (Fiennes), Michael is troubled by aspects of Hanna’s case.

Verdict
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.


Reviewer: Kim Newman

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