It would be a particularly strange individual to claim that this is an entertaining movie. But entertainment isn't the point - some films challenge you and make you question the moral aspect of what you're seeing. And much like "The Reader" did, "Pierrepoint" is another film that asks more questions than it answers. It also features another fine performance from one of Britain's most under-rated actors but somehow, it didn't engage with me as much as "The Reader" did and struggled to avoid the stench and stigma of being a glorified TV movie.
Timothy Spall plays Albert Pierrepoint, a Lancashire grocery deliveryman who leads a double life as one of a number of executioners still operating in the UK. Quickly developing his technique and efficiency, Pierrepoint soon becomes considered the best there is which is why he is asked to Germany at the end of the Second World War to assist in hanging the various Nazi war criminals. Returning to his wife Annie (Juilet Stevenson) and his friend Tish (Eddie Marsan) as a hero, Pierrepoint's previously stoic nature begins to crack when the nation's views on capital punishment changes... and Pierrepoint finds himself doing the unthinkable.
Spall, one of the UK's finest actors, easily holds this tale of the tortured hangman together and gives the character a real pathos that I didn't expect. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect to this - it offers a dark, disturbing look at a man who took a strange pride in what must be one of the most unpleasant jobs on the planet. But as the inevitable stiff upper lip disappears (especially during the final half-hour or so), the film's views on capital punishment are all too visible. There isn't a laugh to be had anywhere, unusually in a British film, and anyone expecting a ray of sunshine should probably look elsewhere. There are one or two historical inaccuracies (Pierrepoint wasn't Britain's last hangman at all) but it's not exactly "U-571" when the Enigma coding machine was recovered by Harvey Kietel and Jon Bon Jovi. I just feel that although it's a well-performed and well-written effort, I can't imagine the sort of person who would want to watch it.
"Pierrepoint" can't really be faulted in terms of what is on screen - everything looks authentic, the actors do well in the roles and the script gives a melancholic, washed-out grey feel to the story which remains not only believable but oddly compelling. My issue is more with what the film is trying to say - capital punishment has been abolished in the UK for a number of years and something tells me that this isn't the sort of movie to shown in places like China or Iran where capital punishment still exists. I feel that the film could have told more of the story rather than ending when it did and also managed the time-line of proceedings a bit better - I didn't get any real sense of time passing, despite the rudimentary efforts of the dialogue. But "Pierrepoint" remains a curious little film, one with a strong message behind it but not the confidence to stand up and shout it.
Timothy Spall plays Albert Pierrepoint, a Lancashire grocery deliveryman who leads a double life as one of a number of executioners still operating in the UK. Quickly developing his technique and efficiency, Pierrepoint soon becomes considered the best there is which is why he is asked to Germany at the end of the Second World War to assist in hanging the various Nazi war criminals. Returning to his wife Annie (Juilet Stevenson) and his friend Tish (Eddie Marsan) as a hero, Pierrepoint's previously stoic nature begins to crack when the nation's views on capital punishment changes... and Pierrepoint finds himself doing the unthinkable.
Spall, one of the UK's finest actors, easily holds this tale of the tortured hangman together and gives the character a real pathos that I didn't expect. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect to this - it offers a dark, disturbing look at a man who took a strange pride in what must be one of the most unpleasant jobs on the planet. But as the inevitable stiff upper lip disappears (especially during the final half-hour or so), the film's views on capital punishment are all too visible. There isn't a laugh to be had anywhere, unusually in a British film, and anyone expecting a ray of sunshine should probably look elsewhere. There are one or two historical inaccuracies (Pierrepoint wasn't Britain's last hangman at all) but it's not exactly "U-571" when the Enigma coding machine was recovered by Harvey Kietel and Jon Bon Jovi. I just feel that although it's a well-performed and well-written effort, I can't imagine the sort of person who would want to watch it.
"Pierrepoint" can't really be faulted in terms of what is on screen - everything looks authentic, the actors do well in the roles and the script gives a melancholic, washed-out grey feel to the story which remains not only believable but oddly compelling. My issue is more with what the film is trying to say - capital punishment has been abolished in the UK for a number of years and something tells me that this isn't the sort of movie to shown in places like China or Iran where capital punishment still exists. I feel that the film could have told more of the story rather than ending when it did and also managed the time-line of proceedings a bit better - I didn't get any real sense of time passing, despite the rudimentary efforts of the dialogue. But "Pierrepoint" remains a curious little film, one with a strong message behind it but not the confidence to stand up and shout it.