Multi-layered emotional triumph

Rating: 9/10 (9 February 2009)

The Reader is a real rarity in movies today; an emotional film that resists a simple explanation. If you like your movies all neatly wrapped up for emotional consumption, "The Reader" is not for you. Our story begins in 1995 as our hero, Ralph Fiennes comments about his daughter's impending visit. We are soon transported back to 1958 as our character is seen as a young teenager getting violently ill in the rain. He is assisted by a woman who takes him to her apartment and before a whole lot has transpired they have begun a sexual affair, an affair that both parties keep secret. We move forward eight years hence when our hero is a young law student witnessing the war crimes trial of several minor SS guards. The woman that taught him about sexual love is one of the women in the dock.
As difficult as it is to sum up in under 100 words what this film is about, it is just as rewarding to the patient viewer. It covers a wide range of issues and has something important to say about a wide range of subjects, from The Holocaust to adult literacy. From lustful sex to repressed memories. Kate Winslet is absolutely stunning as a woman who ages forty years before our eyes. Every performance rings true to some extent and that is no easy task given the depth of the lead. "The Reader" is a film that will reward the patient viewer with one of the best paced and developed stories of the year.