The Mortician (Method Man) is a shy dysfunctional man. His social life consists of a prostitute he visits for off screen sex. He speaks as little as possible. He has a second job/hobby as a taxidermist. In spite of what seems as two incomes, he lives in a run down place where he walks to work past buildings that look like they are in a war zone. I don't think the name of the city is mentioned. I suspect Memphis as he travels to Almaville, Tn.Our Mortician has flashbacks to his youth which intensify when they bring in a dead woman with an elaborate tattoo of Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus, a painting which hung in his home as a child.Meanwhile he has a "porter" (E.J. Bonilla) who is on parole and acts like a thug. There is a young boy who has witnessed a murder and is a person of interest to the killer.The film goes on with very little action until one scene...and then it is about over. The movie was dull. The small boy's life is supposed to mirror the mortician's life as a child. That was not enough to make for an entertaining movie. The editing was poor.N-word, F-bomb, brief sex, no nudity. Deals with prostitution.

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.

It is not too often to witness something credible, emotional and rational at the same time in American cinema. Sadly, Hollywood has been in a steep decline since who knows when. We have to go and grab European or Asian or Mexican or South American flicks if we really want to get some "meat" for the heart.This time, in a setting long forgotten, we're confronted with a witty story in, of all places, the still recovering New Orleans. That, all by itself is a bonus. But when you add to it the magic of a master cinematographer, a superb script and a wonderful cast... you have OffHollywood. And, let me tell you: this guys know what they're doing! The story is bleak. The character of the Mortician (awkwardly and silently played by Method Man -if you can believe his actual name) is definitely played methodically. His role is perplexing, uncomfortable and highly distressing. But that's his job. The rest of the characters are as strange, out of the norm, as the mortician himself.But what really got my attention and made me jump directly into writing this was the uncanny weight and darkness that are pervasive throughout the film. Everything has a smack of doom, and it certainly delivers in this department. Not only is the story gripping and deeply moving. The acting is on par with the craftsmanship of the whole film. Cinematography, taking advantage of the RED 3D is ultra hi-def and has some unforgettably lit scenes, especially in some of the flashbacks. And if this wasn't enough, the score and the songs used throughout the film only add to underline the roller coaster of emotions we're presented with.The turns and zips and flips of the story are an integral part of keeping you hooked without blinking. The colour timing is awesome, conveying exactly every mood scenes needed to exploit their powerful emotional content. I'm really proud of this film being American. It departs completely from stereotypes and boring scripts. It's a slow film. A film portraying a complex drama that unfolds in many directions. Maybe they went too far in explaining why everything happened, but it doesn't feel patronising or as if it was needed for the stupid -it will work, anyway.All in all, it's a film that should be seen to be believed. Chapeau to Method Man (again, unbelievable name!) and to all the crew that made possible this small jewel of new OffHollywood Americana,

The Mortician, written and directed by Gareth Maxwell Roberts is a beautifully crafted example of emotionally powerful cinema. The film stars Method Man as a reclusive mortician. Who's life becomes turned upside down after a chain of events starting with receiving a new porter in the form of an ex-convict named Noah played by E.J. Bonilla. Soon after the body of a young woman with a tattoo of Venus arrives at the morgue and a young boy played by Cruz Santiago starts to repeatedly try to gain access to the building. Meanwhile a local gang leader played by Dash Mihok begins hassling the mortician each day asking if he has seen the young boy around setting the pieces into place to send the soft spoken mortician on a life changing journey that will ultimately force him to face a inner demon that has haunted him since childhood, forcing him out of his defensive shell created out of pain and loneliness.The first twenty minutes of this film are spent almost solely on character development of the mortician; we are given small glimpses into his day-to-day routines and personality. Quickly you forget its even Method Man on screen and only see the character himself due to his immensely believable performance. A lot of this development is done without dialog due to the reclusive nature of Method Man's character and instead portrayed through very visually descriptive scenes, often supported by excellent use of music that is relevant to the story, as well as ambient sounds to perfectly create the mood of each scene.After getting to know the mortician, the movie creeps into the main plot as each of the previously mentioned events start to connect in a very fluent fashion. Watching the mortician grow as the movie progresses from an almost emotionless robot into a big hearted kind human being is nothing shy of breath taking. This film really shines when it comes to invoking a response in the viewer, I found myself continuously becoming genuinely moved by the story that was unfolding in front of me.The writing is unbelievable in terms of high quality, the relationships between each of the main characters come together so perfectly, and authentic feeling that it is nearly impossible to not feel for their situation. This is especially true when it comes to the relationship between the mortician and Noah, at first, he can only see Noah as a criminal, and in return, Noah only sees the mortician as another person who does not care or understand who he really is or about his situation. The age-old message of never judge a book by its cover is one of many messages one could walk away with after viewing the movie. Each of the plot twists is pulled off flawlessly and the use of subtle hints through out the films build up form the perfect set up for the ending causing me to walk away completely rocked by the power of the films message.I briefly mentioned the use of music relevant to the story earlier, this is a aspect that continues through out the film and ends up creating one of the best movie soundtracks I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. This is one of those rare movies where the music does not feel like its just there for the sake of being there but instead honestly ads to the overall telling of the story.While the movie does feature a fair amount of imagery that some may find disturbing it falls more into the category of a gritty drama over any of the other genres it splashes over into. I think many horror fans will also be able to appreciate the macabre and somber tone the film takes on, a very interesting way to tell a story of redemption that is both unique and engaging. - The Liberal Dead