Director Stephen Daldry and screenwriter David Hare teamed up for “The Reader,” just as they did for 2002’s “The Hours.” Therefore, they created a film that has the watertight production standards and gleam of cachet that draw admiration effortlessly, although it displays an emotional aloofness that makes it impossible for viewers to get entirely involved.

Kate Winslet manages to deliver an outstanding performance while exposing both her body and her vivacious spirit, which penetrate the refined shine in the eye of the watcher, who is mesmerized by a ghostly appearance that nevertheless reveals a gentle human side.

Filling the shoes of the central figure in the film adaptation of Bernhard Schlink’s 1995 eponymous novel, Kate Winslet finds herself in the rather difficult position of striving to stir sentiments inside us regarding a former Nazi concentration camp guard. However, the actress knows how to win viewers’ hearts, notwithstanding her character’s nature. Thus, as the movie steps forward, she makes us forget about her past and shows the beautiful humanity inside an ex-stone-built creature.

What hinders “The Reader’s” road to prominence is the generalization of its inner world and imagery that surface as the storyline develops and swiftly moves from a stimulating romance to a more or less predictable court room drama.

David Hare has adjusted the novel’s chronological narrative by introducing time-separated reminiscences brought to light by Michael Berg, who is beautifully impersonated as a teenager by a refreshing David Kross and more seriously played as a grown-up by Academy Award-nominated actor Ralph Fiennes.

As a somber, separated attorney in the 1990s, Michael Berg obsessively thinks about the relationship he had in post-World War II Germany with the ascetic Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet), when he was only 15 and she was a tram worker in her 30s. Since Hanna treats Michael compassionately when he falls ill in the tram, as soon as he gets back on his feet Michael returns to express his gratefulness and, thus, the two discover an astonishing physical bond between them. A diaphanous tenderness and smoothness can be felt throughout these recollections, which include many love scenes and whispers.

Eight years later, Michael is an unrealistic law student who attends a war-crimes trial as part of a course. He is stunned to find out that Hanna is the prime defendant, as she was directly accountable for the deaths of prisoners at Auschwitz.

But “The Reader” does not stop here. It has yet to unveil a very deep secret that Hanna does not want to let go. And this particular element adds the flawless finishing touch to a true work of genius, boosted by incredible performances by Kate Winslet and David Kross, as well as by a thought-provoking thoroughly-constructed plot.