Black Death sounded intriguing to me. The film is a fourteenth century period piece about the bubonic plague. With little to go on beyond an overall three star recommendation, I added this film to my queue. While tailored recommendations often work for me, this one fell short of the mark.
The story opens in a monastery, where the effects of the plague are evident. A young monk, Osmund (Eddie Redmayne), sneaks away for a secret rendezvous with Averille (Kimberly Nixon). It appears the two have a relationship. Osmund sends Averille off to their hometown while he remains to struggle with is faith. That faith will soon be tested.
The arrival of an emissary from the Bishop, Ulrich (Sean Bean) challenges the order. Ulrich has been given authority to select one monk to lead him through the marshes to a village where a necromancer has kept the plague at bay. The village is near the area where Osmund grew up (and the place where he has sent Averille). Osmund steps forward to volunteer, against the wishes of his mentor. Osmund soon joins the motley band of Crusaders destined for a dark, evil place. Osmunds perceptions will be turned upside down and his faith challenged yet again as he is duped by the witch (Carice van Houten) and comes to terms with his own destiny.
Black Death was visually rich. The visual qualities were wasted on a lazy, anachronistic script. While elements of the plague were incorporated into the script, it seemed more a vehicle for a weak story with hackneyed dialogue. Much of the film felt derivative with a plot that was pointless. The pacing was sluggish and the characters predictable. In short, the writing could have been worse...but not by much.
The acting wasn't bad. It is hard to judge performances when characters are flat. However, I was impressed with Redmayne, who was very credible as a terrified young monk trying to make sense of his world. He was decent in his later role, but not quite as believable. Bean was solid, with leadership skills that translated onto the screen. The misfit band of warriors were flat, but given interesting attributes by the casting. The acting breathed a bit of life into an otherwise flat, poorly paced story.
Black Death had little to hold my attention. Even the brutal violence was somewhat off kilter. The violence was enough to earn this film an R rating. Rather than focusing on battle violence, this film was a bit more personal with the use of brutality. The imagery would certainly cause nightmares for younger children. While I would not recommend this film to anyone, if you decide to watch it, I would recommend a teen (or close to teen) audience.
The concept in Black Death held great potential. The church battles evil (in the form of Bubonic Plague) in Fourteenth Century England. The forces are personified in Ulrich the Bishop's emissary and Langiva, the Witch. Properly done, this film might have impressed me. While it was visually rich and wasted great talent, the actual story was plodding, derivative, anachronistic and boring. I was very disappointed, especially in the ending. I would not recommend this film, but will give it 4/10 for the acting and visual appeal.
