The Reckoning (2004)

Touches You

People are voting emotionally.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

An intriguing morality tale, set in a dirty, grubby-looking version of medieval England. There are shades of HAMLET here in the story of a brutal murder and a group of touring players who reenact the event in a bid to uncover the murderer. The tropes and events that play out are all very familiar, and it's fair to say that the characters are more interesting than the story.Paul McGuigan has assembled an eclectic cast, and it's hard to fault any of the central players. Paul Bettany, as the tormented ex-priest lead, is given the chance to get his teeth into a meaty part, while Willem Dafoe embraces a typically kooky part with real vigour. Brian Cox is all gruff gravitas, Tom Hardy catches the eye as a cross-dresser, and Gina McKee is ever underrated. Watch out for a spellbinding cameo from Vincent Cassel, who can do no wrong.THE RECKONING is a gloomy, doom-laden production, but its realism and focus on the nitty-gritty of human existence gives it the edge over similar-looking but sillier face, like the Hollywood supernatural adventure outing SEASON OF THE WITCH.

Everything in the setting and art direction of this nicely done dramatic mystery is of Academy Award caliber, so why was it not nominated? It should have been.The plot is simple but handled in a most perceptive and well-conceived manner, and makes for a riveting tale, with superb performances by nearly everyone involved. A murder mystery set in the 13th century in England, of course with the dangerous politics of aristocracy as fodder.The fault of this film is in the portrayal of the villain, who is lacking in development and nothing more than a one-dimensional Simon Legree. One fully expects him to pull his mustache and cackle. His eventual downfall is welcome, but handled in way that just seems unrealistic for the times.Here is a fellow who is suspected of planning a revolt against the King of England, yet he only has about 6 knights in his stable when push comes to shove? What? Then the angry villagers burn down the gigantic castle, which was the size of about the rest of the town. Right, they'd prefer to just burn it down rather than use it.Other than that, a great film.

This review contains a few small spoilers.I love films with a medieval setting. I also love murder mysteries. You can image how much I was looking forward to seeing this film...The movie contains an amazing cast including Vincent Cassel, Paul Bettany, Brian Cox, Willem Dafoe and Ewen Bremner. With a cast like this you can expect great performances. Unfortunately, many members of this great ensemble cast have very little screen time. Brian Cox and Vincent Cassel have a few lines but perform these lines with conviction.The film has a very promising start but quickly looses a lot of it's credibility. A priest fallen from his faith, that still performs burial rituals while casting aside the whole foundation of plays in that time. I got the feeling, that Bettany's character was a priest when needed to be and a priest fallen from his faith when the situation called for it. The film tries to portray Bettany as a modern priest in difficult time (all odds are against him) but unfortunately fails miserably, IMHO. Although the performances were great, the cinematography amazing and the soundtrack mesmerizing, the story couldn't convince me. That is why I have given this film 7 stars.In short, The Reckoning is an ambitious and entertaining film, but if you want to see a good medieval murder mystery, go see Cadfael or Der Name der Rose.

I've watched this movie 4 times in the last three days, and I'm still not sure I've grokked all of its subtleties yet. Beautiful, yes -- the village set is a series of enclosures, mazes within mazes, that contribute to the entrapped mood surrounding the characters. Even in the scenes outside the village, the woods and hills close in around the actors, like the enfolding wings and backdrops of a stage. The closeups are unsettlingly revealing - filthy fingers with smooth nails using a sharp, rough flint to cut hair down to the scalp....dark eyes revealing everything and nothing....a hand laid caressingly near the jugular....strong fingers....and Paul Bettany's disturbing blue eyes. I can't say enough about Bettany's take on the outcast priest -- he manages moral outrage and submissive pathos with equal ease, and his smiles always have a hint of tears behind them. A haunting performance -- I would go across the world to see Bettany play Hamlet or Macbeth.