--- title: "The Reader: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-reader/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-reader" critics_score: 60 critics_reviews: 14 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Reader (2008): what the critics said Critics' score 60 from 14 reviews: 8 positive, 2 mixed, 4 negative. ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 30 November 2008. The critic describes it as a superbly fluid and elegant film that brings the source novel's melancholy and dilemmas intact with stupendous performances, especially from Kate Winslet, marking a step forward for the director. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/features/the-reader/4042148.article) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 4/5. 30 December 2008. The critic praises the unshowy screenplay, unfussy direction and impressive cinematography for faithfully capturing the novel's complex post-Holocaust themes of responsibility and forgiveness across generations. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-reader-1) ## Total Film — Jane Crowther Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 2 January 2009. The adaptation is considered, articulate and intelligent, bordering on self-consciously classy, with force in the material and elegant performances, particularly from Winslet and newcomer Kross. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-reader-review/) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 2 January 2009. The critic notes the film is worthily and sensitively managed but objects to it as morally ambiguous and ponderous in places. Strong performances from Winslet, Kross and Fiennes are praised, along with the beautiful cinematography and attention to detail. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/winslets-a-winner-in-the-reader-7411862.html) ## Financial Times — Nigel Andrews Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2009. The critic highlights the film's mix of sex, passion and message about redemption, noting Winslet's superb performance brings wounded particularity to the character of Hanna. Director and screenwriter battle the book's bipolarity in the first half. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/d369de54-d675-11dd-9bf7-000077b07658) ## Sight and Sound — David Jays Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). The critic finds relief in the pragmatic female protagonist compared to Daldry's previous work and praises the film's visual evocation of post-war Germany and its exploration of historical reckoning through the characters' personal stories. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/4726) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Kirk Honeycutt Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 30 November 2008. The critic finds the lively nonlinear structure and tight direction engaging for a period drama about a coming-of-age affair and its aftermath, but notes German postwar guilt is not the most winning subject for the holiday season. Praises the performances of Winslet and Kross along with strong production values while emphasizing the moral complexities of confronting a perpetrator who was once a lover. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/reader-review-2008-movie-125129/) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2008. Daldry's film is calculated for awards with outstanding performances but comes across as a cold fish, slow and middle-brow quality drama that is admirable within its limitations but not exactly cinema. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/reader-review/) ## Slant Magazine — Nick Schager Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 7 December 2008. The critic argues that Daldry and Hare fail to thrillingly adapt the literary source, resulting in a stiff, external affair with clunky conventions, superficial shorthand, and schematic plot echoes that feel contrived and obvious. Acknowledges occasional bumps against universal tensions around altering the past but finds the film too refined and leaden to immerse in the protagonists' consuming confusion. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-reader/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 2 January 2009. The critic finds the adaptation of the novel shallow and glib in its handling of Nazi war guilt through a middlebrow sentimental-erotic fantasy. He singles out the grotesque final scene with the tea-can payment to a survivor as particularly insulting and toe-curling. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jan/02/the-reader-kate-winslet-film) ## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 10 December 2008. The film is a scrupulously tasteful but ultimately superficial treatment of an erotic affair and the Holocaust, making the audience feel good about a historical catastrophe through artful but empty gestures. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/movies/10read.html) ## The Times — Cosmo Landesman Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 4 January 2009. The review notes the film raises interesting questions about post-war guilt and forgiveness but finds the explicitness distracting and the connection between books and moral literacy fatuous. Performances are solid but unexceptional, with Winslet competent but not commanding. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/the-reader-the-sunday-times-review-8w56nnkp38f) ## Paste — Jeremy Medina Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 11 December 2008. The critic praises the film as a somber, profound drama that respects literature and thoughtfully examines the moral aftermath of the Holocaust through its complex characters, especially Winslet’s performance. Some jarring issues with Fiennes’ scenes are noted, but shortcomings are few. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/stephen-daldry/the-reader) ## Eye for Film — Chris Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 5 January 2009. Festival review. The film is thought-provoking rather than yielding deep insight, with a screenplay that struggles to convey complex philosophical questions about guilt and the Holocaust through cinema's broad strokes. Winslet's transformative performance as Hanna, aging convincingly across decades, stands out as a highlight amid the story's emotional and moral complexities. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-reader-film-review-by-chris) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-reader.md