I'm a huge fan of The Name of the Rose and I try to catch all medieval movies I can. I ran into this by chance, but read from here that it should be a good looking movie in the style of TNOTR. It wasn't at all, I was hugely disappointed.The story is a murder mystery, yes. The setting is medieval with castles and all, yes. That's about it, I can't think of other similarities. But let's start with the good things.The acting is pretty good as far as Bettany and a few others go. I've never been a huge fan of any of these actors, but especially Bettany played his role very well, it's not often that you see a role played so richly yet it doesn't go into theatrical over acting. The story is also interesting and the production design and locations are gorgeous. The biggest problem I had with the movie is that it feels more like a stage play rather than a movie. While there are few nice and creative shots and - I'll mention again - the sets look great, the cinematography and lighting varies from OK to plain awful most of the time. It's very confusing. Lot's of hand held camera and there appears to be zero post processing or color correction. It felt sort of improvised, more like a theatrical act captured on video rather than a movie where you actually care about the aesthetics of the shots.It's kind of annoying that such great sets and locations are ruined by this directorial decision. I'm guessing many didn't mind this as there are very good reviews, but to me it matters a lot how the film looks and feels. While the atmosphere is kind of medieval, it's not "movie medieval", it's like you'd be visiting the village today and they were performing this as a summer theater act. At night the castle was lit like a tourist attraction.I was kind of surprised of all this as some on the boards mentioned McGuigan being a visual director with lackluster stories. I find this the exact opposite. The story is so much better than the visuals that ended up on screen.

Murder mysteries have always captivated the human mind for one reason or another. One only has to turn on the TV to TNT or USA and chances are that a "Law & Order" episode will be on. Setting one in the Middle Ages has plenty of possibilities, since what people knew and how they acted at the time are vastly different from what people know and do in the present day. Sadly, the result is a mess for 90% of the movie.Nicholas (Paul Bettany) is a priest who fled his town after committing an unspeakable act. He joins up with a troupe of traveling actors (led by Willem Dafoe), and they come across a town where they perform a play. When they arrive, a deaf-mute girl has been convicted of a murder. The group of actors decide to put on a play about the crime, and while creating it, they realize that nothing is what it seems.Few will disagree that the main purpose of a murder mystery is to not only find out who did it, but why. "The Reckoning" accomplishes this, to be sure, but it's nearly impossible to figure out what is going on. Granted, a good mystery keeps the audience hanging until the end, but the protagonist is not supposed to get ahead of the viewer. That's what happens here. While everything is explained in the final 20 minutes, that means that for for over an hour and a half the film is an irritating mess.Additionally, this film relies on the viewer to not ask some questions about the common knowledge at the time. I have read posts on IMDb questioning this, and I have my doubts as well. I won't say what it is, but if you watch the movie, you'll wonder the same thing.The acting isn't standout at all. The actors simply do what is required of them, but they could have been played by anyone. Willem Dafoe tries to add a little spice with his subtly curious accent, but there's really not enough material to do anything really original with. The exception is Elvira Minguez, who despite not being able to speak or hear, manages to gain our sympathy.Paul McGuigan knows how to make a film look nice, but he doesn't know how to make it make sense. The setting is very authentic, and everything LOOKS great, but the story construction brings everything down. His later feature, "Lucky Number Slevin," suffered from a similar problem, but not as bad. McGuigan keeps the pace up, but the the plot twists are barely emphasized at all, many are almost "blink and miss." Worse, he leaves some of the key elements to the imagination when they shouldn't be. Finally, he doesn't have much control over his actors' accents, some of which are so thick that it's impossible to understand what they are saying.Overall, it's another film that looks better than it really is.

Nikolas (Paul Bettany) is a 14th (or so) century priest with a guilty conscience. Guilty of adultery, he exiles himself to the countryside and casts his lot with a group of itinerant theatrical players lead by Martin (DaFoe). Though Nikolas has no discernible acting talent, the troupe begins to grow attached to him, especially as he develops an interest in the mystery of the disappearance and death of several young boys in a small town the players have come to visit. Nikolas exhumes the corpse, attracting the attention and ire of the local magistrate, and discovers a cover-up and conspiracy which his conscience can not allow to go unexposed. Since the courts, the local law enforcement, the church and the local nobility will not listen, Nikolas must plead his case to the citizenry. The troupe takes up the task using their well honed talents.This is a very clever, well written, very well filmed, carefully planned piece of historical fiction. The medieval period is portrayed with far greater accuracy and sensitivity than the usual contemporary film affords, though its cleanliness is a bit absurd, the set is magnificent and reminiscent of Herzog's talents in creating a historic context. The language of the film is also as authentic as it could be without resorting to archaic tongues few would understand. The acting is exceptional, though a couple of Bettany's soliloquies were a little predictably presented (he seems to do a lot of this sort of thing) with DaFoe and Gina McKee providing especially touching and intense performances.The acting and strong script combine to make The Reckoning as good as a character study as it is as a dramatic mystery. It is not, however, a fast paced thriller and will undoubtedly disappoint those used to the style of mystery currently in vogue - that is guns-a-blazin' sex and violence-decorated kill-fests. If you're not in the mood for a slow-moving but intense film experience, avoid The Reckoning. If you want to be immersed in a different, but very real, world, and experience a contemporary issue through the eyes of those who live in that world, see it.

I don't know what to mention first, the acting, music score, the costumes, the pace, the dialogue, direction, the plot, the cinematography. I am in awe. I can only imagine how it must have felt to have been involved in the making of this true work of art. It's a privilege to watch it. Every beat, every glimpse and especially the Orchestral background music which enhances and potentiates the other artistic elements. This is a play to be considered a classic and one to study for many, many years to come. From the 1300's the evolution of the play from Bible stories to drama which depict or portray real life and human characteristics and foibles, this is not only a morality play but a portrait of the evolution and art of drama. This play also demonstrates the power of the people of a place to change the status quo. The power in the end lies not with evil but in Truth. And, by the way while I'm on the subject? I'm totally flabbergasted and ashamed of the designation of R rating for this true work of art. This huge mistake just shows that as a people, we, in the USA feel that it's better to have our children watch violence and bloodshed, but true human portrayals which may include some minor sex is off limits. This masterpiece which contains true Good, Christian and other Religious Good Values we have rated "R". Good job.