I Recommend: The Reader

If there is one actress that will compete with Cate Blanchett in being THE best actress in her age group in Hollywood today, then it will no doubt be Kate Winslet. I have watched Kate in two of her films in the past weeks, Revolutionary Road and The Reader, both have garnered various awards and were very well received by film critics from all over the globe.

While Revolutionary Road is intense and well-crafted, it is in The Reader that Kate Winslet has raised the bar and gave an indelible and powerful performance; for which I hope she will win that elusive Oscar statue which she so rightfully deserve.

Kate’s strong portrayal of Hannah Schmitz, the 36 year old woman guard who seduced a 15 year old school boy into the interwoven complexities of deception, secrets, sex and love amidst the perilous time of the Holocaust was fierce but passionate. She had this disturbing fear of letting her true emotions show – impenetrable, but not without sorrow and some occasional sparks of happiness.

Equally enimagtic and a delight to watch was actor David Kross who played the young Michael Berg (the gifted Ralph Fiennes was the grown up Michael and was the one who told the story) whom Hannah has seduced and eventually formed a secret relationship with.

It is with this relationship between Hannah and Michael that the film took its cue to unravel its thoughtful take on the raw and sometimes painful realities of love, relationships and morality.

I won’t tell you here why the movie was entitled The Reader and what secret Hannah had so fervently kept because that would be giving away too much.

Reasons to see the movie (in a nutshell!): Kate Winslet and David Kross’ fine performances and full nakedness! A disturbing yet thoughtful theme that will make you discuss it over coffee with your friends.