The Reckoning
Seen it?2004 | 112 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Weeknight Watchearly ratingWhy it’s a Weeknight Watch
With middling reviews (39% on Rotten Tomatoes) and soft box office, it's a mixed bag. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Aimed squarely at fantasy readers and lovers of period drama. Its magic has rules, and the story plays by them. Shelve it next to The Name of the Rose or The Night of the Hunter. The costumes and settings are a feast on their own.
- The mood
- Tense, dark and gritty.
- The pace
- Quiet, then quietly devastating, at 1 hr 52 min.
- What might put you off
- Skip it if you like your heroes clean-cut.
In 14th Century England, this tale of murder and mystery follows a fugitive priest who falls in with a troupe of actors. As they arrive in a small town, the actors encounter a woman being sentenced to death for practicing witchcraft and murder. Discarding the expected bible stories, the actors now stage a performance based on the crime. Through the performance of the play, they discover a mystery.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsBelow par
39% on Rotten Tomatoes, 49 on Metacritic
- AudiencesSolid
Our audience score: 56%
- AwardsNot counted
No major awards or nominations
- Box office & staying powerBelow par
$257K worldwide; still draws a steady audience long after release
- Buzz & cultural impactBelow par
About 29K people sought it out in the past year
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Directed by Paul McGuigan
- Paul BettanyNicholas
- Willem DafoeMartin
- Tom HardyStraw
- Brian CoxTobias
- Simon McBurneyStephen
- Luke de WoolfsonDaniel
- Gina McKeeSarah
- Vincent CasselLord De Guise
- Ewen BremnerSimon Damian
- Mark BentonSheriff