The Reckoning (2004)

40% of critics liked it
(86 reviews)
58% of users liked it
(4,556 ratings)

Scottish filmmaker Paul McGuigan directs The Reckoning, based on the award-winning novel Morality Play by Barry Unsworth. Set in 14th century England, the story involves a priest named Nicholas (Paul Bettany) who leaves the church after committing adultery. He falls in with a troupe of traveling… More Scottish filmmaker Paul McGuigan directs The Reckoning, based on the award-winning novel Morality Play by Barry Unsworth. Set in 14th century England, the story involves a priest named Nicholas (Paul Bettany) who leaves the church after committing adultery. He falls in with a troupe of traveling actors led by Martin (Willem Dafoe). Nicholas joins them and attracts the attention of Martin's sister Sarah (Gina McKee). The group ends up in a small town where a mute woman (Elvira Minguez) is accused of witchcraft and murder. Drawn to the woman, Martin suggests that the troupe re-create the events in hopes of drawing a crowd and solving the crime. Also starring Brian Cox, Ewen Bremner, and Vincent Cassel. The Reckoning premiered at the Palm Springs Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 50 min.
Directed By: Pamela Yates, Paul McGuigan
Written By: Peter Kinoy, Paco de Onis, Pamela Yates, Mark Mills
Genres: Documentary, Drama, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Mar 5, 2004 Wide
On DVD: Aug 3, 2004
Studio: Paramount Classics

Critic Reviews

Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic
After a first hour slowed by exposition and a good deal of extraneous subplot development, the story catches fire in the second hour and keeps you engrossed.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
It's not Shakespeare in Love, and it really has no third act, but there's wonder in the scenes of theatrical invention, of theater being made up on the spot, a play in the making.
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
A thoughtful, clever and well-acted diversion.
Tom Long, Detroit News
An ambitious, energetic and wholly satisfying movie about the dawn of dramatic and personal freedom and much more.
Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle
Celebrates the craft of acting both in its story and in fine performances by Paul Bettany, Willem Dafoe and Brian Cox.
Glenn Lovell, San Jose Mercury News
An ambitious but ineptly plotted British import that attempts to fuse The Seventh Seal with a period whodunit like The Name of the Rose.
Jeffrey Overstreet, Christianity Today
[It's] a film with a lot on its mind -- perhaps too much. ... As it is, philosophical dilemmas spread through the film like a plague until they finally claim its life.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
It's disappointing that The Reckoning devolves into a costumed murder mystery a la Jean-Jacques Annaud's 1986 film of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose.
Stella Papamichael, BBC
Although raising intriguing questions about the moral obligation dramatists have to throw a spotlight on taboo subjects, The Reckoning offers simplistic solutions.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
Builds cleverly as the mystery deepens, then struggles to bring it all to a conclusion.
Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A well-done murder mystery.
James Christopher, Times [UK]
Wraps itself around Bettany's guilty secrets like a hot-water bottle, leaving more interesting characters in the moral cold
Mark Halverson, Sacramento News & Review
A multilayered snapshot of a decayed and disintegrating feudal system that richly develops themes and characters with an eerie modern resonance.
Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com
It is, despite the distractions, just a simple murder story, and the revelations in the end are hardly surprising or noteworthy.
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
As an existential awakening into the light and triumph of rational thought over superstition, it's an engaging film, but as a murder mystery it plods along as though weighted down by the heavens and more.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
A challenging and thought-provoking film.
Matt Kelemen, Las Vegas CityLife
... the premise and setting that are intriguing, but the obvious foreshadowing and labored attempt to slowly unravel the facts surrounding the plot are drawbacks.
Phil Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star
All that black, combined with the mundanity of the second act, induces us to close our eyes.
Jason Anderson, eye WEEKLY
May be as dreary and hopeless as the Middle Ages themselves.
Marty Mapes, Movie Habit
The interesting insights give way to undercover constables, and gut-spilling villains

Read all 21 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Cynthia S

Well, I have most definitely become a Paul Bettany fan. This movie was really good, and of course he was outstanding in it. The rest of the cast did a great job, also, but I think that he really made this film work. Great storyline, and great camera work.
jay n

Turgid and uninsipired.
Al S

A very compelling and entertaing epic mystery. Well-written and very well-performed by it's cast. A dark, riveting and thrilling film. Willem Dafoe and Paul Bettany are extroadinary.
Bruce B

Starts a little slow but you get captured up in this. I enoyed it, If you like British Film, then you will enjoy this one. For some a rental, other will find it a must for a well Rounded DVD collection.
Mark A

This turned out to be a pretty decent murder mystery, set in 14th century England with a priest on the run as the sleuth. A solid cast, with Willem Dafoe, Paul Bettany, and Brian Cox the most recognizable names, carried off their parts well. Dreary scenery, but this is the middle… More
This turned out to be a pretty decent murder mystery, set in 14th century England with a priest on the run as the sleuth. A solid cast, with Willem Dafoe, Paul Bettany, and Brian Cox the most recognizable names, carried off their parts well. Dreary scenery, but this is the middle ages, so what is there to expect? The story is pretty straight forward and there are few surprises, but it was nice to watch it unfold.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic][color=darkslategray]"The Reckoning" is a movie starring Paul Bettany as a priest on the run in 1380, who comes upon a wandering, poor, traveling theater group led by Willem Dafoe.(This is long before the invention of theater critics by the way.) They… More
[font=Century Gothic][color=darkslategray]"The Reckoning" is a movie starring Paul Bettany as a priest on the run in 1380, who comes upon a wandering, poor, traveling theater group led by Willem Dafoe.(This is long before the invention of theater critics by the way.) They wander across a town where a woman is condemned to death for killing a child. There is some interesting ideas in here about redemption and theatre in the middle ages(I found it interesting that only works from the bible were performed. Kind of like Cecil B. Demille on a much smaller scale...) but it is so ploddingly earnest, that I was expecting(and hoping) that a Monty Python routine would pass through at any second. And as with any movie that he is in, Brian Cox threatens to steal the film with a delirious performance. [/color][/font]
deb .

"What are you really running from? I see it in you, not the woman...some darker secret." During the 1300's in England, a disgraced priest (Paul Bettany) flees his church and joins a traveling troupe of actors. They are set to perform in a village… More
"What are you really running from? I see it in you, not the woman...some darker secret." During the 1300's in England, a disgraced priest (Paul Bettany) flees his church and joins a traveling troupe of actors. They are set to perform in a village where a boy has recently been murdered. In search of the truth, the troupe acts out a performance of the alleged crime. A unique and exceptional murder mystery with stellar performances by Paul Bettany and Willem Dafoe. "Theirs is the silence of consent."
FanGirl B

I thought this film looked sort of boreing but it ended up being really good. I highly recommend it.