The Reader (2008) 9/10

Starring : Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, David Kross
Director : Stephen Daldry
Running Time : 119 mins

In post World War II Germany, Michael Berg (Kross) starts an elicit relationship with an older woman named Hanna Schmitz (Winslet), a relationship that ends abruptly and without any explanation. Years later Berg, now a law student, discovers that Shmitz is on trial for war crimes following her involvement in the internment camps during the war, but he has information that could potentially clear her name at least in part.

This was an incredibly moving and thought provoking movie which puts Winslet in an ambiguous light. The character of Michael Berg, played by both Fiennes and Kross is the kind of character that you can’t help but dislike, due to his poor decisions and his terrible timing. This movie really should have beaten Slumdog Millionaire to the Oscar this year, but I guess it’s never to be.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Chamber