Moxie User Rating

8.5 stars out of 10 (13 votes)  -  login or register to rate this film

Synopsis

In post-WWII Germany, teenager Michael Berg (David Kross) becomes ill and is helped home by Hanna (Kate Winslet), a stranger twice his age. Michael recovers from scarlet fever and seeks out Hanna to thank her—drawing the two into a passionate but secretive affair. Michael discovers that Hanna loves being read to and their physical relationship deepens. She is enthralled as he reads to her from The Odyssey, Huck Finn and The Lady with the Little Dog. Despite their intense bond, Hanna mysteriously disappears one day and Michael is left confused and heartbroken. Eight years later, while he is a law student observing the Nazi war crime trials, Michael is stunned to find Hanna back in his life—this time as a defendant in the courtroom. A haunting story about truth and reconciliation, and how one generation comes to terms with the crimes of another. Also starring Ralph Fiennes. Directed by Stephen Daldry (The Hours, Billy Elliot).

Trailer

Film Information

• Genre: Drama
• Director: Stephen Daldry
• Written By: David Hare
• Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Kate Winslet, David Kross, Lena Olin, Bruno Gan, and Alexandra Maria Lara
• Running Time: 123 minutes, approx.
• MPAA Rating: R for some scenes of sexuality and nudity.
• Language: English
• Official Site

Reviews

"Winslet deserves an Oscar for her amazing performance."

   - Jenni Miller, Premiere

"Kross and Winslet's intense performances and Daldry's deliberately placid control of tone make the material work as a love (and hate) story as well as a metaphor."

   - Tasha Robinson, The Onion (A.V. Club)

"The Reader is significant because -- like another film opening today,"

   - William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"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 Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

"With this film Daldry, previously the director of"

   - Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

Showtimes

• Friday, January 9th
  3:30 pm, 6:15 pm, 9:00 pm
• Saturday, January 10th
  3:30 pm, 6:15 pm, 9:00 pm
• Sunday, January 11th
  3:30 pm, 6:15 pm
• Monday, January 12th
  3:30 pm, 6:15 pm, 9:00 pm
• Tuesday, January 13th
  3:30 pm, 6:15 pm, 9:00 pm
• Wednesday, January 14th
  3:30 pm, 6:15 pm, 9:00 pm
• Thursday, January 15th
  3:30 pm, 6:15 pm, 9:00 pm
• Friday, January 16th
  3:30 pm, 6:15 pm
• Saturday, January 17th
  3:30 pm, 6:15 pm
• Sunday, January 18th
  3:30 pm, 6:15 pm
• Monday, January 19th
  3:30 pm
• Tuesday, January 20th
  3:30 pm
• Wednesday, January 21st
  3:30 pm
• Thursday, January 22nd
  3:30 pm, 6:15 pm
• Friday, January 23rd
  3:30 pm, 6:15 pm
• Saturday, January 24th
  3:30 pm, 6:15 pm
• Sunday, January 25th
  3:30 pm, 9:15 pm
• Tuesday, January 27th
  3:30 pm, 6:15 pm
• Wednesday, January 28th
  3:30 pm, 6:15 pm
• Thursday, January 29th
  3:30 pm, 6:15 pm
• Friday, January 30th
  3:45 pm, 6:30 pm
• Saturday, January 31st
  1:00 pm, 3:45 pm, 6:30 pm
• Sunday, February 1st
  1:00 pm, 3:45 pm
• Monday, February 2nd
  3:45 pm, 9:15 pm
• Tuesday, February 3rd
  3:45 pm, 6:30 pm
• Wednesday, February 4th
  3:45 pm, 6:30 pm
• Thursday, February 5th
  3:45 pm, 9:15 pm