The Reader

A flawed mix of a kind of German "Summer of '42" with a theatrically bound courtroom drama and aftermath, "The Reader's" lopsided before-and-after structure defeats part of its dramatic impact. David Hare's screenplay adaptation of Bernhard Schlink's 1995 novel packs a punch during the first half when 15-year-old Michael Berg (David Kross) slips into a heated sexual affair with Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet), a thirty-something train assistant. In between bouts of intimate frolicking, Hanna has Michael read aloud to her from the books of literature that he studies in school. The sexual relationship plays out and Michael goes on to study college law were he is shocked to encounter Hanna standing trial for her association with the Nazis in sending Jews to their deaths. The story is unique in that it attempts to humanize a perpetrator of war atrocities via an unconventional sexual context. The film reaches for a satisfying resolution but can't settle on how to sum up a deeply personal story of loss and unintended betrayal. Nevertheless strong ensemble performances prevail with Ralph Fiennes giving a characteristically nuanced weight to Michael in his later years.

(The Weinstein Company) Rated R. 123 mins. (B-) (Three Stars)