The Reader is definitely deserving of all the Academy Award talk that the movie first prompted last December ’08 and January ’09.  I had never even heard of The Reader when it forced its way into several award categories this past spring, with Kate Winslet earning an Oscar as Best Actress in a Leading Role, and marking high in nominations for Best Cinematography, Best Achievement in Directing, and even Best Motion Picture of the Year.  The film was also well received with wins and nominations in the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Golden Globes, and even the MTV Movie Awards.  I decided I had to see this film to see if it was truly worth all of the above buzz.

The Reader is based on the 1995 German novel written by Bernhard Schlink.  The English translation came two years later, and then it took over ten years for someone to write the long awaited screenplay and find a crew talented enough to actually make the film.  The movie opens in 1950’s post-war Germany where 30-something train conductor Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet) cares for a helpless, ill 15-year-old Michael Berg (David Kross).  Weeks later, Michael returns to Hanna’s residence to express his gratitude for her selfless act of kindness.  It is during this second chance meeting that the two begin an intense love affair.  At each encounter, Hanna requests that Michael read to him the books he has been learning from in school.  So, from The Odyssey to The Lady with the Little Dog, Michael happily reads to an attentive Hanna.  At the end of the briefly romantic summer, Hanna disappears, leaving Michael with only memories of his first love.

Years later, while in law school, Michael sees Hanna again.  Only this time, Hanna is the defendant in a well-known trial of Nazi criminals.  Michael learns that prior to their affair, Hanna was a guard at a concentration camp during the Holocaust.  In the case being tried, Hanna is to blame for killing 300 Jewish women in a church fire.  When it comes time for sentencing, Hanna accepts the guilt, and thus a much more lengthy prison term, by refusing to provide a sample of her handwriting…after all, she “prefer(s) to be read to.”  At this revealing moment in the trial, Michael’s heart breaks with sorrow and his blood boils with confusion as he does not understand why Hanna is too embarrassed to admit her lifelong secret.

In the last leg of the movie, a grown Michael (Ralph Fiennes), now a lawyer, is still full of love and disbelief when he tape records himself reading aloud the many novels he used to read to Hanna ands sends them to her in prison.  Then, by using the books from the prison library, Hanna puts the tapes and words together and teaches herself to read.  After almost 20 years since the trial, Michael’s character is tested once more when he is asked to help Hanna find a job and place to live upon her release from prison.  The sympathy, blame, and regret continue to burn Michael, Hanna, and viewer all the way through the last few twists of the movie.

Even though I did not read the original novel, I still thoroughly enjoyed and respected the movie.  The acting is beautifully believable.  You first fall in love with both main characters, then you feel hatred, followed by sympathy, masked by reconciliation.  Kate Winslet does such an amazing job in portraying Hanna that you do feel for her in every way…from the hard-working, deserving lover to the older guilt burden woman who’s too embarrassed to admit the truth to the aged woman who’s come to terms with her fate.  I smiled and cried throughout the movie because of Kate’s strong leadership.  I also believed the young Michael when he was careless and in love, and I felt for the older, wiser Michael who, despite knowing of his ex-lover’s Holocaust past, still tried to be true to himself.

This romantic drama is probably not to be taken lightly.  So I would wait to watch it for a night when you can devote all of your attention and thought to its themes.  You won’t want to miss a minute of the story.  Its underlying question of love, truth, and loyalty leaves you contemplating the characters’ choices and wondering about your own choices in life.  I would definitely recommend The Reader based on the award winning acting and the basic story line.  The accounts told are worth the time, thoughts, and tears that you’ll give toward The Reader.