Black Death - ...un viaggio all'inferno

I wasn't sure what to expect when I sat down to watch this movie. I knew Sean Bean was in it and that it was set in the middle ages during the plague, but that's about it.

It turned out to be a good suspense movie with some nice plot twists. The best part is how the suspense is slowly built up, until you think you might know what is really going on, and then later you understand its something completely different. No spoilers, but the way the story keeps you guessing and fools you is quite well done.

The acting is good too with all the minor characters doing believable performances. Carice van Houten is especially noteworthy and interesting as the village leader. She was entrancing and definitely the stand out in the movie. Sean Bean does a workmanlike job as a righteous knight, and as usual is a good presence in the film.

A note on the ending - yes, as other reviewers have said, the ending feels rushed and tacked on, and completely unnecessary. But I can overlook it because it's quite brief and can be shrugged off and doesn't detract from the rest of the movie to any degree in my opinion.

Set in 1348 the Black Death is at it peak, however, one village appears to be immune to the plague. Ulric (Sean Bean) devoted Christian enlist the help of a Monk (Eddie Redmayne) to lead him and his men through dangerous lands to this unholy village where it is said the dead are being brought back to life.

Two British directors and writers really standout for me in recent years, Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers, Descent and Doomsday) and Christopher Smith (Creep, Triangle and Severance). Smith's latest offering has it the mark with a blend of swords, Catholicism and Wicker released the same year Neil Marshall's well advertised Centurion, which on first viewing was bloody but average compared to Marshall's other work.

Smith's vision with marshes, fog and mists across the lands it oozes atmosphere. The gritty realistic sets and settings are note worthy, everything looks authentic and aged, perfect for first outbreak of bubonic plague. There's some great practical effects, cadavers, dismemberment's and blood. The flights are finely choreographed and swordplay is raw and relentless as limbs are hacked off.

The latter part of the film slows down, building tension in the seemingly safe village, Smith's develops the eerie strangeness of the rural superbly, reminiscent of the Wickerman (1973 & 2006), In the Name of the Rose (1986) and The Village (2004).

Although in fear of being typecast as another chain armoured soldier Bean gives a passionate and gripping performance, and newcomer Redmayne plays the confounded monk Osmund's admirably. The supporting cast, even though another band mercenaries are memorable and the characters are developed. Comedy actor Tim McInnerny is satisfactory in an unusual serious role as the village head. There's a notable cameo by David Warner as The Abbot. However, it's Carice van Houten who steals the show as Langiva the striking necromancer.

There's a little too much shaky hand held camera work at times, that aside the cinematography is first rate. Dario Poloni screenplay is the icing on the cake, as the dialogue feels authentic and unforced, compared to the aforementioned other period piece. It explores religious beliefs, faith, witch hunts, occultism and much more.

With low expectation's for another period piece, I was pleasantly surprised by Smith's vision. Certainly not perfect or the grandest film; however, it's a gripping medieval, satanic mystery action that has a nice original twist at the end.

"Black Death" is superficially about the Bubonic Plague that struck Europe in the 14th century. Going deeper than that it is about the God-fearing and the godless.

A warrior for the Church named Ulrich (Sean Bean) was in search of a small village where the plague hadn't touched. He was convinced that they were seeking the devil's protection and were aided by a necromancer. He used a young friar named Osmund (Eddie Redmayne) to help him and his band of men find the village. Once there they faced a people, led by a woman named Langiva (Clarice van Houten), who weren't ready to willingly give up their way of life.

"Black Death" was religious and you know what they say about politics and religion. It never made the men of religion sanctified. They were willing to torture in the name of Christianity and "Black Death" points that out. If seeing Christianity pitted against paganism bothers you then stay away.

Medieval scholars will probably find substantial problems with the film's depiction of the Middle Ages, but to a non-historian it certainly feels closer than many other period movies: buildings are mostly squalid and insubstantial, the weapons and armor of the soldiers are crude and ill-assorted - Ulric (Sean Bean), the bishop's envoy, has the best of everything, while his followers are progressively less well-equipped as they descend the social scale - and it gives a good sense of the unwelcoming, sparsely-populated landscapes of medieval Britain. The casting works well too: the soldiers are, for the most part, neither Hollywood pretty-boys nor stock grotesques, but have the look of real people, 'warts and all'.

The impression of a brutal, bleak time when life was not merely cheap but nearly worthless is reinforced by the look of the film. It's coldly lit, and everything is misty and uncertain. This distinctive atmosphere creates a feeling of constantly impending disaster without the need for the cheap frights and minor chords of a horror movie.

The characterization is often surprisingly complex: Ulric may be a fanatic, but he's also a pragmatist who is no crueler than he needs to be. Even his soldiers are not one-dimensional brutes, but have their own personalities, with subtly-sketched human traits. The film encourages you to think about the motivation of even the most minor characters. Eddie Redmayne as Osmund does a good job of presenting a complex and conflicted character for much of the film.

The weak point where the characters are concerned are the women. Averill (Kimberley Nixon) and Langiva (Carice Van Houten) sometimes feel more like plot devices than people. This is not the fault of the actresses, who both deliver good performances. It's just that their characters are more constrained by the requirements of the plot.

As with any film in which religion plays a major part, there's been some debate as to whether the film is pro- or anti-Christian. To my mind, it's neither. All the characters, whichever faction they represent, are badly compromised. The only value system that it really seems to promote is that of simple humanity. It's no accident that the director gives the final voice- over to Wolfstan (John Lynch), who emerges ultimately as the film's most sympathetic character, a somewhat tarnished and world-weary ideal of what it means to be a 'good man'.

By and large, the film works well in terms of plot and pacing. It doesn't drag, and there are few obvious plot holes. Where it falls down badly, however, is with the ending segment, which feels like a hurriedly-sketched afterthought. The fact that the director felt it necessary to deliver key material in the form of a voice-over should have warned him that he needed to rethink his approach. The film would probably have been not only complete but also stronger if that whole section had simply been cut.

It isn't a standout film, but it's certainly an interesting one. It's well made and acted and it leaves you with plenty to think about. Any film-maker who wants to truly convey the feel of the Middle Ages - brutal and squalid, and at once alien and familiar - should watch "Black Death" and take notes.

Black Death is directed by Christopher Smith and written by Dario Poloni. It stars Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, John Lynch, Tim McInnerny, Kimberley Nixon, Andy Nyman, Johnny Harris and Carice van Houten. Music is scored by Christian Henson and cinematography by Sebastian Edschmid.

1348, Year of our Lord, the bubonic plague is ravaging Europe. When word spreads of an isolated community that is plague free, a gang of Gods' soldiers are tasked with seeking it out under the impression it might be a haven to occult dealings. Guiding the group is rookie monk Osmund (Redmayne), who after falling in love with a young girl is conflicted about his faith. He takes the soldiers' request for a guide as a sign to find his true calling, what he and the soldiers find at the end of their journey, however, has far reaching consequences for them all.

Considering it was a limited release in theatres it's a little surprising to find so many have sought it out on home format release. What isn't surprising, given its themes, is how it has polarised opinions. Personally I love it, this in spite of director and writer cribbing from notable Brit movies of our past. Yet even when in the supposed sanctuary of our home during this latest visit to the film it was met with derision from the lady love of my life! After director Smith (Severance/Triangle/Creep) has well and truly pulled the rug from underneath us to tantalisingly leave things ambiguous, he slots in a coda that muddies things still further, simultaneously infuriating another portion of the movie watching populace. I write this because of two reasons, the first is to obviously intrigue potential first time watchers into taking the plunge and giving it a go, the second is to negate the underselling of the movie by its own director!

Somewhere along the way Smith chose to not sell it as a battle between religion and atheism-Christians against Pagans, but went for the more pleasingly medieval men on a mission aspect, which for the first half of the movie it is. Perhaps those sneaky loans from the revered films that have influenced it weighed heavy on the director post the release and critical appraisals? But undeniably it's the second half that carries the thematic thrust. True enough to say that following a chainmail clad Sean Bean and his grungy band of "mercs" traverse the land, fighting off bandits and the plague along the way, is good formulaic fun, but it's when they happen upon the marshy set village, greeted by a ghostly Carice van Houten and a unnervingly smiley Tim McInnerny, that the film really hits its stride. Thus opening up debates as the battle for Osmund's soul truly begins and we are asked just who are the good and bad guys here?

Filmed out in the forests of Saxony Germany, the film looks terrific in the context of the period it is set. The colours are deliberately stripped back and muted, this plague ravaged land, and persons, demand that to be the case. There's some initial annoyance with the "shaky-cam" formula during the more up-tempo sequences, this is something that is becoming a staple requirement by directors of historical pictures, but Smith thankfully doesn't over do it and achieves good atmospheric realism throughout. It's interesting to note that the Pagan villagers are clean and sprightly, while the Christian soldiers are grimy and grotty, life of the medieval soldier was bloody and bloody dirty work . When the excellent Andy Nyman as Dalywag takes a leak up a tree, he merely wipes his newly whetted hand on his tunic, it's little things like this that keep the film in the realm of realism, an awareness of the time indeed. Cast attack the material with good thespian seriousness, with Lynch and Harris scoring well as polar opposite characters in the supporting ranks of Ulric's (Bean) band of not so merry men.

It's not overly gory, Smith choosing (correctly) to let us at times fill in the blanks in our head, while the fight scenes are very well staged (Bean was very pleased with how they turned out). But ultimately it's the themes in the story and period setting that is of the most interest here. What ever side of the fence you sit on as regards religion, or how you feel about humanity being depicted so coarsely, Black Death will get a reaction out of you. 8/10