Metacritic Movie Ratings
The Reader Reviews

A sample of reviews from critics across the country.

• 88

  out of 100

  Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert

  The crucial decision in The Reader is made by a 24-year-old youth, who has information that might help a woman about to be sentenced to life in prison, but withholds it. He is ashamed to reveal his affair with this woman. By making this decision, he shifts the film's focus from the subject of German guilt about the Holocaust and turns it on the human race in general.

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• 75

  out of 100

  USA TodayClaudia Puig

  Though the effort is uneven, it's a well-acted romance that becomes a less compelling courtroom drama.

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• 70

  out of 100

  Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan

  It is only, frankly, the strength of Winslet's performance that rises above conventional surroundings and makes The Reader the experience it should be.

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• 70

  out of 100

  The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt

  An engaging period drama. But German postwar guilt is not the most winning subject matter for the holiday season.

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• 67

  out of 100

  Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum

  The film is notable for its nice performances, its handsome photography, and its very active music. If the preceding praise sounds generic, so is the movie.

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• 60

  out of 100

  The New York TimesManohla Dargis

  The film is neither about the Holocaust nor about those Germans who grappled with its legacy: it's about making the audience feel good about a historical catastrophe that grows fainter with each new tasteful interpolation.

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• 50

  out of 100

  VarietyTodd McCarthy

  Stephen Daldry's film is sensitively realized and dramatically absorbing, but comes across as an essentially cerebral experience without gut impact.

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See all The Reader movie reviews at Metacritic.com