The Reader

Who: Liz
What: The Reader
Where: my living room
Why: I heard it was a good movie

This was a fabulous movie. I believe Kate Winslet won the Oscar for this role. She played Hanna, and Ralph Fiennes played Michael. Basically, they were the only real characters in the movie. In the beginning of the movie it is 1958 and Michael gets sick in an alleyway and Hanna helps him out, it seems he has scarlet fever, so he goes to bed for three months. Michael comes searching for her to say Thank you after the 3 months and she seduces him. Mind you, at this stage of the game, Michael is only 15 years old and Hanna is about 35. They have this affair, yet she is very cold and he falls in love with her. He lets his life be run by Hanna. She wants him to read books to her and he does. Its very sweet. After a little while, of course an affair like this ends.
The movie jumps 8 years and by this time Michael is in law school and Hanna is on trial for being a guard in Auschwitz….who knew? There wasn’t an indication in the beginning of the film. I don’t want to give away the rest of the movie, I just want to note that Kate Winslet definitely deserved the Oscar for this role. She played Hanna with such fervor. This woman ,whose life just got away from her and didn’t really turn out the way she wanted. Ralph Fienne’s character’s life is also consumed by her. This movie showed how one event can change someone’s life forever. Sometimes we have to let things go and just can’t. It was a great movie. Be aware there is a definitely adult theme in this film, as well as nudity.