User reviews

This comedy is as dark as they come, these black comedy's. This is a film made for pure entertainment, and there's no deeper meaning to be found. If you want some British dark humor, with bad taste and disgusting scenes, you got it here!

A retiring hit-man starts following his childhood dream, and starts off a new career as a local baker, trying to get away from his dangerous boss. But his strong reputation isn't going away just like that, and he's asked to bake a couple of murders. And his boss is no fool, and still dangerous.

I can't help remembering a couple if other food related films, when it comes to watching this. Delicatessen, Le Grande Buffet, Chocolat, Fried Green Tomatoes and even the cookery in The Perfume.

As almost always with British films, this is spot on when it comes to the acting, and I love that the film is kept in vibrant colors with camera filters, which gives the film a warm look, though it's quite cold when it comes to emotions. Maybe the music is a bit too much on the crazy side. At least I would have chosen differently.

Still this is an entertaining flick in the Hit-man black comedy genre. If you liked this, check out these from the same sub genre of black comedies: In Bruges, One night at McCools, Burn after reading, Red (and Red 2). See my list of great black comedy for more.

Having just watched this on DVD, I feel this could have been so much better and funnier. Having a comedy writer on board might have made the weird village residents even more funnier and over the top, added a few more funny situations, as it was a lot of the villagers were standing around and doing nothing in the film, in my view a missed opportunity. Also perhaps being a British comedy film there could have been some famous faces doing cameos, perhaps the budget didn't run to this, shame, Micheal Gambons role could have been played by any actor, then they could have brought in some comedy actors/icons instead. Damian Lewis for me isn't a comedy actor, an assassin yes, but a baker no. Would his character have buried his expensive "tools of his trade" in a hole in the ground for anyone to find I don't think so and would he have made a living in a small Welsh village selling such terrible bread and cakes, no. If you want to see a really funny British comedy film try Death at a Funeral, with lots of very funny, British comedy actors, mind you it was directed by Frank Oz(an American born in the UK)who got good performances from the actors, probably had a bigger budget, but a British comedy all the same like they used to produce out of Ealing in the 50's/60's.

The Baker will make you laugh but not as much as it should have done.

dark humor, idyllic place, a lot of strange characters and lovely story. British at all, it is the kind of film who seduce and enjoy. the serious subject has adorable nuances of old fashion tale. it is its virtue - to be more than common comedy, to transform a thriller in a safe story about values, beginnings and Welsh landscapes. n interesting presence - Michael Gambon in a key role for the levels of film. and Nikolaj Coaster - Waldau in a nice character skin before the river of Games of Thrones.a nice film . smart, touching, full of pictures of common figures of a rural community. a kind of cake. sure, very special.

Damian Lewis, later of Black Sails and Band of Brothers fame stars in this quirky English film as the affable lead who is an assassin searching for love. He makes his way to Gwynfyd where he decides to try his hand at baking. The townspeople of Gwynfyd themselves are an odd bunch and Milo, our would be assassin tries to fit in.

A movie that is reminiscent of A Knights Tale, in that it does not take itself seriously, pokes fun at itself, the main leads back then are next to nobodys when the movie was made and overall, a light-hearted silly film that you can enjoy once. It certainly wont win any awards but is worth a watch on a night in when you dont want anything too serious or intense.

Milo is a hitman working for an underworld organisation in London however his heart isn't really in it. He decides to spare his latest target; this is witnessed by fellow assassin Bjorn who makes it clear that when the bosses learn about it he will be eliminated. Leo, Milo's mentor, offers him the use of his property in a remote Welsh village till things can be sorted. Once in the village the locals assume he must be the new baker as he is staying in the old bakery; he decides that perhaps he could really become a baker. It isn't long before some villagers learn that he is a hitman; and most of them seem to want his professional services. Meanwhile Bjorn is closing in on Milo and Milo is falling in love with local woman Rhiannon.

Given this film is about a hitman one might expect it to be fairly violent; it isn't. Apart from a man being shot in an early scene it is almost devoid of any real violence. What there is either happens off screen or is played for laughs. If one didn't realise this was a comedy it becomes obvious when our protagonist is knocked out by an exploding sheep! Most of the villagers are fairly over the top caricatures but they are still funny rather than irritating. The cast is solid; most obviously Damian Lewis (Pre-'Homeland'), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Pre-'Game of Thrones') and Kate Ashfield; as Milo, Bjorn and Rhiannon respectively. There are plenty of laughs to be had and although the story is pretty silly it is fun enough; several reviewers refer to it as a black comedy but to be honest I found it less dark than an episode of 'Midsomer Murders'. Overall I wouldn't call this a must see but it passes an hour and a half well enough if you want something fairly lightweight.

Assassin Milo (Damian Lewis) is having second thoughts about his latest target when rival Bjorn (Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau) takes the shot. Their organization assigns his termination to Bjorn. Milo escapes into the Welsh countryside to property owned by his mentor Leo (Michael Gambon). He's burying his gun case when he is hit by an exploding sheep head. After cared for by Rhiannon (Kate Ashfield), he is mistaken for a baker taking on the alias Milo Shakespeare. Eggs is a local youth who blew up the sheep and stolen his guns. Soon, rumors of Milo as a hired assassin spread and some people actually have jobs for him.

The town folks are dark and wacky but not necessarily funny. They are not that appealing. This is a dark comedy which needs more comedy. Damian Lewis has great dead-pan mannerisms. He's able to inject some quirkiness but he needs a comedic partner. This has potential for something outrageously funny but it never really gets there.

I am baffled anyone thinks this is a good film, in my opinion no. The characters lack any personality, lewis is good but that's about it. It dragged along and I couldn't finish watching it, it was too stupid. Nothing about it stood out other than it's awfulness. The plot sucked too. I was thinking to myself this is a comedy right? Bad, no real laughs stupid scenario and generally bad comic acting. I hate to slate a film but this really does deserve it. I'd give it a 3 as it was better than Battlefield Earth which I gave a 1.

"The Baker", or The "Assassin in Love" as it is called in the U.S., is an awesomely delightful and twisted black dramedy from the UK. No one does these better than they. Most of this movie is shot in the lovely and surprisingly sunny Welsh countryside which keeps the tone light and upbeat. And, this is the paradox - a light/black comedy/drama presented as easily as two happy children skipping down the sidewalk.

Italia provides the cadence through the joyful 'que sera' of songs like "Volare" sung by the cast (miss you DeanO), "Jump the Line" crooned by Belefonte, and the "Gopher Mambo". The rhythm and pace of the whole package simply envelopes the watcher.

I love Damien Lewis, but the entire cast was a joyous surprise. When all was done, I was reminded (in a tiny, wee twisty sort of way) of the movie "Chocolat". Gareth Lewis, brother of Damien, wrote and directed this sublime piece of pleasure and if you can't enjoy it, you probably don't have a sense of humor. ;^) 10/28/2010

A hitman (Damian Lewis) has had enough of the killing and is given the opportunity to take a break and hideaway in a small Welsh village where he poses as a baker. It's not long before his past catches up with him.

How Damian Lewis was able to give a dignified performance in this awful black comedy is anyone's guess, other than to say that the film was directed by Lewis's brother, Gareth Lewis. This excuse for comedy is poorly delivered and conceived with little thought to character as opposed to caricature with little in the way of chemistry between any of the performers. Lewis is good though and will certainly appeal to his fans.

This is an absolute pile, I'm guessing the 10/10 marks are given by friends of the cast or people involved with the film - its absolutely terrible, avoid.

This film is absolutely hilarious!!! I hope this film gets released in the US (I've seen it via a Hungarian DVD). Those of you in the UK, take note: The DVD is released in the UK on March 3, 2008. For anyone (anywhere in the world) seeking something to make them laugh and smile, this is an excellent choice! If this film is within your reach, by cinema or DVD, seek it out.

Writer-director Gareth Lewis provides a great story, excellently told with lots of refreshing originality, tons of laughs, and perfect casting throughout. Damian Lewis is absolutely wonderful in the lead role, displaying the perfect blend of comedy, action and romance. Hats off, bravo and well done to everyone involved in this immensely enjoyable and entertaining film! APPLAUSE APPLAUSE APPLAUSE! :-)

Idiotic humour, in fact nothing funny about this film. I suspect it has only got the average rating it's got due to many voting for the fact it's a 'British' film, I can see no other explanation for anyone giving this moronic film 5 stars. I don't mind bland, I don't mind predictable or simplistic, when you're in a mood for some easy viewing but this movie was disconcerting in how bad it rated in every area; caricature acting, one silly character after another, meaningless plot, torturous attempts at being funny. The person I watched it with laughed a couple of times so I can blame my lack of appreciation to entirely not getting the type of humour utilised but I would still rate highly a humourless comedy if it had other merits. This film had none. I found it almost excruciating to watch for the fact it was shamelessly stupid but still had this feel of thinking itself very cool, eccentric and somehow 'different'. There were some quirky parts that some will perhaps appreciate but I find no joy in absurd characters and situations that amount to nothing as a whole, all random and sketchy, adding no structure to glue it altogether, no depth or purpose and at minimum are not even funny. Still, if you find exploding sheep and toilet humour funny you might be one to give this film 10 stars.

I finally got to see this movie after trying to track it down for years. My problem was I searched on the film's UK name ("The Baker") and only just learned it was renamed for its US release. A quick search found that Amazon had it for rent, so I downloaded it for a plane ride home.

OK, maybe I had higher expectations after waiting all that time but I can only say this was a good movie and not a great one. It has several "issues" that I won't elaborate on as I still think it's worth watching.

The characters are interesting and the plot moves along, plus it had a lot of moments that made me smile but I will admit I never really laughed outright. It's that kind of film, enjoyable especially for Damian Lewis fans (I've always liked him since "Band of Brothers"). Kate Ashfiel does a good job, it took a little while to recognize her as Liz from "Shaun of the Dead" (she looks better with her short brunette hair) and Steve Speirs is great as Bryn. Several others put in outstanding performances that make it worth watching.

So, while not a "10," it's definitely a strong "8" and worth the time if you like movies of this genre.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a serious actor has almost zero chance of succeeding in doing comedy. I notice that most of the positive reviews are from Americans, which says it all. This is an awful attempt at black comedy and it fails completely. Do not waste your time on this pathetic attempt at humour.

This movie, is beyond my understanding, as in, you really good look a long time, to find a movie as horrible this one :( How it scored a 6.4 / 10, is really weird...

I love Damien Lewis, i love Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, but this is really awful, you the only times i laughed during the movie, was when realizing how depressing this movie is too watch.

The only real laughter i had in it, was the beginning, with the guy at the toilet, that was rather funny, and i expected the movie to be like that throughout, but boy was i sadly wrong :(

Please don't waste your time, even the most boring movie you can think of, is probably more entertaining than this one!

1/10 (Being generous)

I want to make a stand for The British Who Enjoyed This Film. We've watched this a few times with others and everybody has been in stitches, and are spreading the word.

The comic timing and perfect delivery of the dialogue is superb, its simplicity and cadence brilliant (but obviously lost on some who found it 'wooden'), enhanced by a set of very comic characters. It's refreshing to see actors from a wider pool employed instead of the same-old same-old hi-popularity niche.

The choreography fits the music like a glove - one of the best sex scenes ever. :-) Don't get put off by the nay-sayers - they'd probably not enjoy street theatre either.

This is a film which is very easy to like, possibly because the rather dark subject matter is presented in such a cartoonish way. In fact, after watching it I was surprised NOT to see Nick Park's name anywhere in the creative process. It had all his commonly-used attributes, surreal plot, quirky, cartoon-like characters and a strong sense of wry mischief. All the characters except for the key players are ridiculous, one-dimensional figures with almost no back-story. They are there only to be amusing or to be shot. Or both. The whole thing is a real treat and it doesn't out-stay its welcome. Great music too!

The best love scene I have ever seen and a right head banger. Where has this movie been I never remember seeing it published anywhere probably one of the best movies I have ever seen.

Definitely worth your time. It's never slow or boring. And you must listen carefully so you don't miss any of the dialogue. It's mostly brilliant and hilarious! Sexy too. Very well written! I wanted to move to that little town immediately.

Never seen nor heard of this until it popped up on Prime.

Well worth the watch with a simple, done before story but with a brilliant comedic twist. Set in Wales, with a great and oddball supporting cast.