The Undertaker

A very good film. Saw this in the local cinema. I didn't know what to expect but it was very interesting. Described as a dark film noir thriller. Certainly the quality of the film is film noir. It's set in a Northern town in England in the 1960's, very much reminiscent of those kitchen sink dramas of the time. An Undertaker (Paul McGann) is presented with an offer he can't refuse by the town gangster (Roger Barclay). The film descends into a killing spree with someone's final demise. The acting is great, really string performances particularly from Tara Fitzgerald as the gangsters moll. Cameos by Nick Rowe and Sean Gilder bring a strong quality to the work. Michael Wrights direction is good although the story is repetitive at times. The whole feeling is claustrophobic and dystopian. Some ingenious use of sets makes this a very unique film harking back to the classic British cinema of the late50s early 60's I liked it but I'm not sure I'd watch it again.

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.

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.

In a dark northwestern town in England sometime in the 1950s or 60s, Paul McGann plays a silent brooding undertaker, scarred by the death of his brother at the hands of local Gangster Finlay (Roger Barclay) and mourning the loss of the love of his life. As Finlay's brutal business ambitions result in a series of killings by his henchmen Arthur is pressured into disposing of the bodies by burying them with the naturally deceased. This underhand deal begins to eat away at Arthur who realises he's getting into deep trouble as the police in the shape of Kelly (Sean Gilder) start to take an interest.

This is a stark, but sometimes darkly humorous, character study, that really focusses on McGann's captivating performance as Arthur, as he deals with the pressure by trying to continue with business as usual even as his respectable facade and his mental state is crumbling.

The film is shot through with a gothic shadowy grime that shifts from virtually monochrome to lurid reds in Finlay's hellish nightclub 'The Chessboard Club' where silent songbird Vic (Tara Fitzgerald) focuses on philosophy rather than belting out caberet numbers. Lily Frazer is Arthur's mortuary assistant who having signed up for the job can't stomach the questionable morals of Arthur's new lucrative side line.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable, dark, strange gothic crime thriller, with odd twists and turns and a unique look that creates its own deeply claustrophobic world on the screen.

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.