The Undertaker

The Undertaker is a dark and compelling period British crime thriller shot through with some amazing performances and stark visuals. Paul McGann plays the titular undertaker in a small northern town sometime in the 1960s. But Arthur's haunted by his past, a lost love of his life killed in the war, and the more recent death of his brother at the hands of local hoodlum Finlay, played by a compelling Roger Barclay who injects the small town bully with both menace and pathos. Also in the mix is a jaded and philosophical nightclub singer played by Tara Fitzgerald, watchable as ever, plus an an array of sinister sidekicks pilling the pressure on an increasingly nervous Arthur. When Finlay makes him an offer he can't refuse and a gig to bury a few bodies under the shadow of night, Arthur has to agree. But as the dead pile up Arthur flips and decides to take matters into his own hands, with a finale that recalls the visual chaos of early Kurosawa movies. A delight also to see the legendary Murray Melvin in his final on screen role. More morality play than gangster action flick, this film creates and maintains an amazing bleak atmosphere with some great visuals and great sound design. See it in a cinema if you can. .

Watched this at premiere in Bristol. Went because big Dr Who fan and Paul McGann. Enjoyed the film, cool looking and atmospheric. Acting was good. It was a bit slow but kept my interest. They made the sets with models which was amazing. It's set in 1960's and the film was stylish and dark has a supernatural element which I wanted more of, all filmed in Bristol at Bottleyarde Studios which has produced lots of UK tv. Also last performance of Murray Melvin, who was in lots of cult films, Barry Lyndon etc. I would recommend seeing it as it's unlike most things you get on tv. All in all a good film.

Full disclosure I'm a big fan of Paul McGann. From Withnail and I, Monocled Mutineer to Dr Who and beyond, he is one of Englands most underrated and underused talents. I'd watch him making a cup of tea and in this film that's exactly what he does. The whole film has a tea stained quality to it, 'a nicotine stained fly blown lung' to quote his character, Marwood in Withnail and I. He is beautifully reserved as The Undertaker, 'I just bury people' is his mantra delivered with such a simple throw away bespectacled look that underscores the duplicity underneath. He really shines in this film. As Paul has said in interview he did this film because it's the sort of film he'd go and see and that sums him up. Cult film actor who does the most riskiest of films others turn down. I love him and the sparkle he brings to any production. A real star.

The Undertaker is a solid noir crime thriller with a dash of dark humour. The film has a really strong visual look with great production design and lighting as the camera prowls around the grubby northern town the film is set in. It's claustrophobic and then some. Paul McGann is compelling as he plays Arthur a drab and depressed local funeral director who's mourning his lot in life, but is approached by local hoodlum Finlay who's got a plan, in fact an offer Arthur can't refuse. He needs Arthur to bury a few extra bodies on the quiet when he's doing his normal business, in reward for some extra cash. Arthur agrees but his moral choice (the character's name is even 'Morel') leads him down the wrong path despite warnings from both Tara Fitzgeral'd's as a nightclub siren, and Lily Frazer's character who works part time at the undertaker's shop.

The Undertaker is a modern day (albeit 1960s set) morality tale about making the right choices while it counts.

Beautifully art designed and chocful of British character actors that you've seen in all kinds of things for years, The Undertaker is a bit of a cult treat for lovers of unusual British films. Paul McGann heads up a cast that could have been plucked out of an industrial town from the mid 20th century, replete with starched collars and drizzled raincoats. Colour and joy have seemingly been bleached from the lives of these stoic post-war Englanders. You can almost smell the carbolic. The plot follows Arthur (McGann), a seemingly mild mannered undertaker operating a modest business somewhere in the north of England in the early 1960s. After he is approached by Finlay (Roger Barclay), a local gangster, he is coerced into disposing of a mounting number of cadavers created by Finlay's gang, as they launch a power grab. Arthur is faced with the dawning reality that when the music stops, he may well be the last man who literally knows where the bodies are buried. As Kelly (Sean Gilder), the detective investigating the case puts to him "Who's going to bury you?' Arthur's journey is one of complacency, rather than greed. He seeks the easier, softer way but in doing so, places himself and others in serious peril. The vampish Vic (Tara Fitzgerald) and Finlay's accountant Pullman (Bob Cryer) recognise this, but their warnings may not arrive in time to save Arthur from a fate that could be considered far worse than death. The Undertaker is an unusual little film for the movie watcher who doesn't shy away from the quirky. Its beautifully crafted sets and overall design are somewhat reminiscent of Caro and Jeunet's 1991 classic 'Delicatessen', having a slightly other worldly quality about them. Great performances throughout and worth watching for the late, great Murray Melvin's cameo performance alone (he plays Lenny, Arthur's business partner.) A solid 8/10.