the reader
DIRECTED BY STEPHEN DALDRY WRITTEN BY DAVID HARE, BASED ON BERNHARD SCHLINK'S NOVEL Distributor: The Weinstein Company Rated R Released in the U.S. and Canada on December 10, 2008 (New York), December 12, 2008 (San Francisco and Los Angeles)
By Omar P.L. Moore/The Popcorn Reel
December 8, 2008
updated
"The Reader" is deeply heartfelt -- an absolute must-see. Stephen Daldry ("The Hours") directs this moving story of a 36-year-old woman (an excellent Kate Winslet) who has an torrid summer affair in 1958 Germany with a 15-year-old boy. Secrets are to be told, and are they ever. Ralph Fiennes is terrific as a man recollecting his youthful education in carnal knowledge and other morally disturbing events. David Kross is also remarkable as the 15-year-old. Based on the best-selling German-language novel of the same name by Bernhard Schlink. One of the towering achievements in cinema in 2008, Mr. Daldry's film is an intelligent, well-rendered journey of a man trying to come to grips with his first love and her hidden past. A brilliantly scripted love story by David Hare adapted from Mr. Schlink's novel, "The Reader" is a beautiful adult tale of ethics, morality and the attempt to understand.
Original Popcorn Reel Film Review: "The Reader" (December 12, 2008)
Popcorn Reel Video Film Review: "The Reader" (December 27, 2008)