Brilliant and touching

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

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.

It's 1380 England. Norman barons have ruled for 300 years. Both the church and state work together to maintain the absolute rule. Nicholas (Paul Bettany) is a monk who had an affair with a married woman and must go on the run. He witnesses a group of traveling performers kill a man. Martin (Willem Dafoe) explains that their leader was old and begged to be killed. Nicholas is taken into the troupe. They arrive in a village where a woman is sentenced to hang for murdering a boy with testimony from monk Simon Damian (Ewen Bremner). Their performance fails to get much of an audience. Martin decides to make up a new play based on the boy's murder but they soon discover more to the story.I like this murky ugly world of the medieval traveling entertainers. The story is a bit too complicated and a bit too talky. I do like the heated debate about creating a story not from the bible. The cast is full of first rate talents. The acting is superb. The problem is that the movie is juggling too many balls. In addition to the mystery, Nicholas is haunted by the constant flashbacks. The cast is so full of great actors that it's a scramble to follow everybody. This is a movie in need of some trimming.

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.

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.

Was Just wondering does Paul Bettany's character die in the end of the movie because it stuffed up on my DVD and i never got to see the end of it but of what i saw it was an excellent movie one that really sucked you in and made you want to watch more and find out what happened next and Bettany's big inspirational speeches are just pure brilliance they give me goose bumps William Dafoe as always the cool chilling character making you not want to get on the wrong side of him thanks see you Apparently I have to write more lines so don't read this it is just a load of it so it will let me submit my comment i think this should be enough lines