Totally not what was expected. Much better than i could have predicted! I would have given this movie a 10, but i sat down thinking i was going to be watching a horror movie and to me this was not a horror movie. There was lots of grit and excitement! By the end of the movie, i found myself crying, but thoroughly enjoying the film! Very touching and heartwarming. All the characters were believable. Method man was superb! I would definitely recommend this movie and i will watch it again in the near future!

The Mortician (Method Man) is a lonely man with a scarred past, the kind of guy who keeps his mind occupied by throwing everything he is into his work. That all changes one night on the way home from work, when he witnesses a crime eerily similar to the one that made him the way he is. The Mortician is content to try to ignore what he saw, until he comes to realize it directly involves the young man he is mentoring and that inaction could destroy another family. This film was a bit of a surprise to me, in that it wasn't the horror film I was expecting. The preview made this film seem like it was horror, as do the title and cover art, not to mention it's on Lionsgate, which has become synonymous with B-movie horror in recent years. Perhaps the even bigger surprise was the star of the film, Method Man. Every single time I have seen him in a film, he's playing some thug or gang banger, so I figured that he was just another one of these rappers that Hollywood uses when they need to fill that type of role, but I was wrong. Despite the ridiculousness of a man who is nearly fifty years old still calling himself, Method Man, he can legitimately act. In fact, this film is quite dark and slow moving, even boring at times, but Method Man and the unique traits of his character, were the most interesting aspect of this film. Maybe I'm rating the film a bit higher than I should be, then again, my expectations were extremely low. The Mortician isn't a horror film and it doesn't move at a quick enough pace to even be labeled a thriller. The story is a decent one, albeit one that takes forever to get going, and the acting is much better than I would have expect from this cast. The Mortician wouldn't be my first choice by any means, but if you have the opportunity, I wouldn't skip it either.

First, please forgive me for sounding rather bitter about this movie, however there are some disclosures I must first make about my relationship to the film and its subject mater. I have previously worked as a mortician, having multiple professional qualifications in the field of funeral service, restorative art, and embalming. In the course of my work as a funeral director, embalmer, and mortician, I can say that the "Mortician" character this movie was not a member of any of the aforementioned professions. This would be no different than titling a movie "The Banker" when, in fact, it is about an attorney. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to title the movie,"The Autopsy Technician", "The Morgue Attendant" or something else. The only thing that a mortician and the above mentioned professions have in common is the fact that we work with dead bodies...Very little else. I can also mention that a city morgue in any sizable metropolitan area would be a much larger operation with other skilled technicians and professions, including most importantly, a forensic pathologist to actually perform the autopsy. Everything involving the treatment of human remains, from the removal from the scene of death to the forensic processing is grossly inaccurate, and considering the tone of the movie, I find it quite a disappointment. The acting is respectable, commendable at times. The over-all production quality is quite fine, and story is interesting, but I would expect a considerably higher level of research to have been done before the script was produced.

I recently attended a private screening of the film The Mortician in 3D directed by Gareth Roberts of Full Circle Films, a UK company. It stars Method Man in the lead role of the nameless Mortician, an introvert. The Mortician made its public debut at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 12, 2011, although not to rave reviews if you are a reader of Variety and Obsessed With Film, an obscure website. Both disliked the film, yet both reviews lacked any literary analysis concerning plot, theme, structure and the use of techniques such as flashback that assist the plot in creating and resolving the Mortician's internal and external conflicts.The plot of The Mortician has breadth and depth. Gareth introduces the Mortician through a series of chance meetings, meticulous work habits and a decaying city allowing Method Man to display his interpretation of the introverted Mortician. Method's performance is convincing as he dons a full beard, over-sized glasses and a bowler hat to assist his acting skills in physically depicting the meek Mortician. His facial expressions, soft spoken tone, and demure carriage were well placed throughout. The sequence of events changes tempo when the corpse of a young woman, Jenny, played by Judy Marte, is brought to the Mortician's morgue. As the Mortician cleans her body in preparation for the autopsy he notices a tattoo of Botticelli's Birth of Venus, which begins the rising action - a series of flashbacks hearkening the Mortician to his upbringing with a single mother, who unbeknownst to him as a child was a prostitute. The use of the flashback technique was masterful (compare it with Bordertown) as it becomes the catalyst through which the internal conflict is developed and is ultimately resolved through and with the external conflict.The external conflict centers around Kane, a young boy played by Cruz Santiago. Kane is trying to gain access to the morgue but is turned away by the Mortician. The Mortician notices that Kane is living on the street and being manhandled by the Mortician's assistant, Noah, played by EJ Bonilla and is also being hunted by the local gang leader Carver, played by Dash Mihok. Despite knowing the dangers Kane faces, the Mortician is unable and unwilling to intervene as he goes about his predictable introverted routine seeking interaction only with his regular prostitute, Ava, played by Dana Fuchs. The irony here is that the Mortician's relationship with Ava represents goodness and light amongst the decaying and violent city. Moreover, Gareth's choice of tastefully depicting this relationship reinforces this paradox.The Mortician's flashbacks coupled with his awareness of Kane's plight ultimately propel him to intercede on Kane's behalf and introduces us to the film's main theme - redemption. The redemptive power of reconciliation, forgiveness, and understanding are underscored through the Mortician's metamorphosis from an apathetic android to a caring human bringing us to the climax of the film, which has several interesting twists and turns.It is likely the 3D aspect probably boosted the funding of the film, but its value will probably be lost on a generation whose only association with 3D has been animation or action films, not drama. While The Mortician does have some significant action scenes, it is not enough to appease the expectation of 3D audiences. With that said, however, the use of 3D in this film did work quite well in bringing the setting to life and in the emotional close ups of the characters. The Mortician is a well told story that will draw you in emotionally, pique your interest and impress upon you the power of redemption.