It’s 1348, the height of what will be known as the first wave of the bubonic
plague in England. Fifty percent of the population are stricken and die, making
the better part of Europe a vast graveyard. Osmund (Eddie Redmayne), a young
novice monk, watches as even his monastery is struck by the black death. One
day, the monastery receives a visit from Ulrich (Sean Bean), a special inquisitor
from the church who has a request for the Abbott (David Warner). Ulrich and his
men are on their way to a secluded village where, rumor has it, the plague has
not even affected them.
The reports the church are getting from this place are frightening: they have
completely forsaken God in favor of a necromancer who now rules in the village.
The local church sits abandoned while human sacrifice is practiced on the edge
of the marshes. Ulrich and his mercenaries, who have been hired by the church to
deal with the necromancer, need a guide to lead them to the village. Osmund
quickly volunteers. While the lad is a devout follower of God, he has fallen in
love with Averill (Kimberly Nixon), and is thinking of taking advantage of this
moment to run off with her. However, his very faith in God with soon be tested
to the extreme.
Directed by Christopher Smith, who also did the superb Triangle, starring Melissa
George, Black Death is a marvelous blend of historical drama and horror. Sean
Bean (The Lord Of The Rings; Game Of Thrones) is great as the religiously devout
Ulrich, an unflinching holy assassin who’s determined to do whatever he has to
in order to carry out God’s work. Eddie Redmayne is also very good as the
conflicted Osmund, who sees the church persecution across the land--namely, the
hunting down and burning of women as witches--as an act that serves man more
than it serves God.
The mercenaries are all presented here as fully developed characters--each with
their own little quirks. The writing and acting here is so good, you can’t help
but bond with this brutal band of thugs, especially during the well-staged battle
scenes. And Carice van Houten is brilliant as the enigmatic Langiva, the
unconventional leader of the distant village whose basic message is an alluring one.
The ending features an amazingly harsh twist that is both a mind-blower in its
shock, as well as how it answers some pointed questions concerning the true
motives behind the religious persecutions of this era.
--SF
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