The Graduate meets Schindler’s List in Stephen Daldry’s earnest, tastefully shot adaptation of Bernhard Schlink’s 1995 partly autobiographical novel.

As the young Michael David Kross is precocious and suitably haunted when reunited with Hannah in the courtroom scenes, while as the adult Mike, Fiennes (of Schindler’s List) offers his typically flawless study of repressed grief and regret.

Winslet memorably played a Nazi-persecuted nun in an episode of Ricky Gervais' Extras and sagely reasoned that Holocaust = Oscar.  And she was proved right in February 2009 when she collected the golden statuette for her efforts here.

The difficult moral quandaries tackled in the book – does acting within the law absolve heinous crimes, should a war criminal be permitted any happiness – are largely provided courtesy of Michael’s law professor (Bruno Ganz, who portrayed the ultimate Nazi piece of work in Downfall).