The Reader. Directed by Stephen Daldry
Date: 23 November 2009
Kate Winslet’s Oscar performance takes us into the private life of Hanna Schmitz, a stranger who has an affair with fifteen-year-old Michael Berg, nearly half her age, during World War II. Based on the book by Bernhard Schlink, the story is chronologically told from Michael’s perspective, as we follow him through his teenage years through to adulthood, from the start of the affair to the revelation of a dark secret which leads to an unpredictable fate for Hanna. Perhaps reading the book first would make the film experience more enjoyable. Though Winslet’s German accent is impeccable, her performance was no less brilliant than her other critically acclaimed roles, such as Revolutionary Road and Little Children.