The Reader Critic Reviews

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.Read the full review

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.Read the full review

Though the effort is uneven, it's a well-acted romance that becomes a less compelling courtroom drama.Read the full review

Winslet's fierce, unerring portrayal goes beyond acting, becoming a provocation that will keep you up nights.Read the full review

The Reader is closer to a near miss than a rousing success but, on balance, this is still worth seeing for those who enjoy complexity and moral ambiguity within the context of a melodrama.Read the full review

Bernhard Schlink's highly regarded novel "The Reader" receives a graceful, absorbing screen adaptation by director Stephen Daldry.Read the full review

It is only, frankly, the strength of Winslet's performance that rises above conventional surroundings and makes The Reader the experience it should be.Read the full review

An engaging period drama. But German postwar guilt is not the most winning subject matter for the holiday season.Read the full review

The film is notable for its nice performances, its handsome photography, and its very active music. If the preceding praise sounds generic, so is the movie.Read the full review