THE RECKONING
Year: 2004
USA: Paramount Classics
UK: Entertainment Film Distributors
Cast: Paul Bettany, Willem Dafoe, Simon McBurney, Gina McKee, Brian Cox, Tom Hardy, Stuart Wells, Matthew MacFadyen, Luke de Woolfson, Mark Benton, Tom Georgeson, Hamish McColl, Ewen Bremner, Teresa Berganza, Rafa Izuzkiza, Jose Luis Martinez Gutierrez, Vincent Cassel, Jared Harris, Simon Pegg
Director: Paul McGuigan
Countries: UK / Spain
USA: 112 mins
UK: 110 mins
USA Rated: R for some sexuality and violent images
UK Certificate: 15 contains moderate sex, violence and rape references
USA Release Date: 5 March 2004
UK Release Date: 4 June 2004 (Limited Release - London, West End)
Synopsis
Fourteenth century England. The Black Death is everywhere. Robbers roam the countryside and life is hard for the common folk who suffer under the tyranny of grasping nobility. Set against this powerful backdrop is 'The Reckoning', an unforgettable murder mystery about the power of art, the temptations of evil and the search for justice.
On the run in the dead of winter, a fugitive priest named Nicholas (Paul Bettany), joins with a troupe of travelling actors led by the charismatic Martin (Willem Dafoe).
The group arrives at a village where they encounter a woman named Martha being sentenced to death for the murder of a young boy.
Under Martin's leadership, the actors decide to defy tradition, discarding their usual Biblical plays, and staging instead a performance based on the real-life crime.
But through the creation and performance of the play, the players discover to their dismay that Martha may be innocent and the ruthless killer still at large. Nicholas turns into an amateur sleuth, following a trail that leads to the castle that towers over the village.
As the stage becomes a place where vital human truth is told, so it changes forever the actors, the townsfolk and the very balance of power. Now Nicholas must make a fateful choice - to keep on running or take a real stand for justice and, in the ultimate sacrifice, reveal his own hidden crimes.
DVD extras include: Featurettes and soundbites