The Reader

"Behind the mystery lies a truth that will make you question everything you know."

2008 2h 4m EN

🙌

7.5

BANGER

🍅

63%

FRESH

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

7.6

IMDB

★7.5TMDB · 3,489🍅63%Rotten Tomatoes●58Metacritic★7.6IMDB · 271,485

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who, as a teenager in the late 1950s, had an affair with an older woman, Hanna, who then disappeared only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial stemming from her actions as a concentration camp guard late in the war. He alone realizes that Hanna is illiterate and may be concealing that fact at the expense of her freedom.

“Behind the mystery lies a truth that will make you question everything you know.”

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Cast

Ralph Fiennes
Michael Berg
Kate Winslet
Hanna Schmitz
David Kross
Young Michael Berg
Lena Olin
Rose Mather
Bruno Ganz
Professor Rohl
Jeanette Hain
Brigitte
Hannah Herzsprung
Julia
Karoline Herfurth
Marthe

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Stephen Daldry
Writers: David Hare
Languages: English, German, Greek, Latin
Countries: Germany, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.4× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 18 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, German, Greek, Latin.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Germany, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Stephen Daldry, shot by Roger Deakins. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Nico Muhly. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Claire Simpson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

AWARDS

Did you know

Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet and David Kross carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Stephen Daldry directs. Roger Deakins behind the camera. Nico Muhly scores. Claire Simpson cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Germany, United States of America. Dialogue in English, German, Greek, Latin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 3.4× over at the box office.
2Released 18 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, German, Greek, Latin.
4International production across 2 countries: Germany, United States of America.
5Directed by Stephen Daldry, shot by Roger Deakins. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Nico Muhly. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Claire Simpson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet and David Kross carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Behind the mystery lies a truth that will make you question everything you know.".
10IMDB entry: tt0976051 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 27 themes, including "based on novel or book", "germany", "war crimes", "world war ii".
12Released under 20 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Roger Deakins
Original score: Nico Muhly
Editing: Claire Simpson
Production design: Brigitte Broch
Costume design: Donna Maloney
Makeup / hair: Linda Melazzo
Sound: Lee Dichter
Runtime: 124 min · 2h 4m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $32,000,000
Box office: $108,902,486
Return: 340% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Reader (2008)
Rotten Tomatoes: 63% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 58/100
IMDB rating: 7.6/10 · 271,485 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Won 1 Oscar. 26 wins & 48 nominations total

Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
World Soundtrack Award for Discovery of the Year
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
London Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the Year
European Film Award for Best Actress
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Stephen Daldry

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-06
★ 7/10
David Kross is really effective in this tale of a young boy ("Michael") who encounters "Hanna" (Kate Winslet) as he shelters in her doorway from a rainstorm. In fairly short order, this fifteen year old boy becomes her lover; in return she gets him to read to her. He is soon infatuated and devastated when he turns up at her apartment one day to find her gone. Skip on thirty years or so and he - now Ralph Fiennes - takes over a retrospective of her story as we discover she was tried for being a particularly nasty Nazi prison camp guard and she is sentenced to life imprisonment. Throughout her internment, the two continued to correspond - he would send her tapes to aid in her learning to read... Stephen Daldry has created a delicate masterpiece here, I think. Winslet is very much on form as the story goes from a bit of sexual fantasy for the young man, through to a far darker, more horrific, second part. There is something unnervingly natural about Winslet's performance; from the playful and generous - though temperamental - lover for this naive young boy, then the odious and distinctly unrepentant, almost belligerent, woman at her trial. Despite that, somehow, Daldry manages to elicit just a grain of sympathy for her. Was she inherently bad or just inherently weak - or both? Did she crave for affection just as much as the young "Michael" did when they met? His story is one of emotional barren-ness growing up in a large family where his relationship with his father was distant and chilly and the young Kross really does shine in the role. There is plenty of sex at the beginning, but it's not gratuitous; it's exploratory - for both of them and that intimacy also adds richness to what is ultimately quite a sad tale that, though thought-provoking when it comes to the whole concept of forgiveness and reconciliation, did make me realise that so many people caught up in the Nazi machine were ill-educated and frightened. It's also worth noting the subtle role played by Bruno Ganz as his legal professor "Rohl". This is a character who proves to be a crucial conduit for the young man as he has to come to terms with what he thought she was, and what he now knows she became. The pace of this production is measured, the photography frequently intimate and lingering and the attention to the detail from the production designer also adds potency to this visceral and touching story that I really did find well worth a watch.
badelf2023-05-23
★ 4/10
I didn't turn this movie off after the beautiful sex scenes only because two others were watching it with me. The mere fact that "Germans" were speaking English totally destroyed the whole "suspend disbelief" for me. This film is an awful rendition by Brits of an award-winning German book. Perhaps, only someone from the Nachgeborenen (to coin Bertolt Brecht's meaning of German post-Holocaust generations) should have made this film. The two stars are for Winslet and Kross. The rest sucks.
Alunauwie2025-09-30
★ 9/10
The Reader blends a controversial romance with post-war German guilt, presenting a layered, emotional story carried by powerful performances and thoughtful direction. Despite some logical gaps, the film succeeds in portraying personal and societal struggles through its characters' trauma and secrets. It’s a compelling watch for those drawn to slow-burning dramas with moral complexity. Read the full review here: (Indonesian version : alunauwie.com) and (English version : uwiepuspita.com)