The Headsman

Shadow of the Sword is a good film with an interesting and different story that paints a picture of the Catholic Church and its cruel inquisition.

However, it doesn't give much of an understanding of those who were being persecuted, the Anabaptists (or other groups that are mentioned without being explained). It would have been a clear improvement if we were given a deeper portrayal of especially the Anabaptists as well as the other main characters.

The film should have been a little longer to give these better descriptions. It has a lot of good parts, but it is missing some depth in its character descriptions. The story is quite gripping and strong and it is a great period piece, but it lacks some depth and should give the viewer a better understanding of the background and develop the characters more.

Ok, so the writing and much of the acting do rather let this down, but it has assembled a surprisingly decent cast and the standard of the production is really fairly good for what must have been a fairly low-budget affair. It's all about two lads who were separated at a young age. One - "Georg" (Peter McDonald) is headed for holy orders, the other "Martin" (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is seconded into the military service of the emperor. Years pass and events now dictate that the former man be the prior in a small town where the latter is sent - as it's executioner. John Shrapnel is probably the most lauded Thespian in this drama, but his role of the bishop is predictable and undercooked suggesting he only had one or two filming days to give this. Steven Berkoff is here too, but he is nowhere near his maniacal best as the menacingly titled "inquisitor" and at just short of two hours, it all takes far too long to get anywhere near the sharp end of it's blade. Aesthetically, it does look good and it does give us a sense of the mud-strewn life lived by a population that lived in fear of a church that was very much of the "do as I say, not as I do" frame of mind and you like the genre then it's a sort of "Cadfael" with gore, - and I didn't hate it.

This movie gave me whiplash. It started off with about a History Channel Reenactment quality, then got pretty good through the middle, and then ended like an average B-Movie. I feel like the main issue was editing, there were moments where I laughed out loud. Like when the dude's life flashed before his eyes and they threw in a clip of the sex scene from earlier in the movie (a "we're definitely using that again" moment). I was expecting a movie more sympathetic to the church, but I liked the angle they took instead. Berkoff was doing some Star Trek bad guy acting, Coaster-Waldau was pretty good, and Eddie Marsen is always a pleasure.

I love historical films, even the bad ones. But this movie is one of the best. It hits the dark and depressing atmosphere in the shadow of the all-mighty catholic church well. The acting is on a high level by all actors, especially Coaster-Waldau and McDonald. Coaster-Waldau seems to be getting more and more to a main actor in movies. After seeing him alongside Bettany (another shooting star) in Wimbledon and Firewall, I was expecting a lot. And I was not disappointed. But I was most surprised by McDonald, never heard of him before, and his acting as a troubled prior torn between his duty and friendship.

So if you want to see a great movie set in the middle-ages, buy or rent both "The Reckoning" and "The Headsman".

I got this movie to watch without any preconceived ideas at all, no reviews to consider, but a good IMDb rating.

The intro scene caught my attention and helped set the mood and character of the two leading roles for further into the movie.

I liked the level of detail and griminess that would have been appropriate at that time and the overall setting both inside and outside the town. I'd say this was perhaps more realistic and less Hollywood than other similar period movies, such as perhaps Braveheart.

Particularly, the feeling of social exclusion for a looked down upon yet 'approved' role was quite interesting, especially in comparison to the punishable 'unapproved' yet socially acceptable roles.

Overall, this movie is one that I'd recommend and will likely watch again.