The Reader · written by David Hare · 2008

Hanna and Michael make intense love; she grips his head, then releases him.

Scene 78 of 196 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act two

Act oneAct two

Begins 31 min into a 1:21 film

The story so farBefore scene 78

As a law student, Michael sees Hanna, his former lover, on trial for war crimes and must face the secret that shaped their teenage relationship.

Scenes 1–6
In 1995, Michael prepares breakfast for Brigitte, then is alone in his apartment and looks out the window.
Scenes 7–24
The sick schoolboy Michael accepts Hanna’s help and returns to her.
Scenes 25–35
Michael enters an intimate relationship with Hanna, organized around his reading to her.
Just before
Scene 75
Michael cycles with wet hair toward Hanna’s apartment, looking unhappy.
Scene 76
Michael complains that Hanna never asks about him and that their relationship follows her terms; Hanna throws War and Peace onto the bed.
Scene 77
Hanna washes Michael in a lavender-scented bath.
Scene 78
This scene

78INT. HANNA’S APARTMENT. DAY

They are making love on the bed. It’s intense. At one point she moves on top of him. She holds his head between her hands, as if she would crush the life out of him. Then she lets go.