The Reader
The plot of a worldly woman sexually tutoring an avid boy has stoked many a novel (and male fantasy). In this fine film of Bernhard Schlink's best seller, 15-year-old Michael (David Kross) has a paroxysmal affair with thirtyish Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet) in 1958 Berlin. Then the twists kick in. As harsh as Michael is soft yet desperate for his ardor, Hanna is from a German generation whose war scars, inflicted or endured, still sting. The story spans five decades (Ralph Fiennes plays the older Michael) and takes odd turns; we'll just say it has aspects of The Miracle Worker, except that Helen Keller is a war criminal. But director Stephen Daldry mines all the sexual and ethical intensity, and the two leads are bold, acute, affecting, scaldingly honest. 12/10