The Reckoning is mostly a wreck

“The Reckoning”

Starring: Willem Dafoe, Paul Bettany, Brian Cox

Directed…

“The Reckoning”

Starring: Willem Dafoe, Paul Bettany, Brian Cox

Directed by: Paul McGuigan

After a medieval acting troupe spends decades performing Biblical plays, who can blame them for trying to spice up the stage with a secular scandal? But when the new play proves to be better suited for an episode of “Law and Order,” audiences past and present may wish they’d stuck with the classics.

Set in 14th century Britain, Paul McGuigan’s “The Reckoning” follows the evolution of a play from a reenactment of Genesis to an effective homicide investigation. The result is an unlikely fusion of early morality plays and forensic pathology.

In the first moments of “The Reckoning,” Father Nicholas (Paul Bettany) succumbs to temptation, and falls into bed with a married woman. Defrocked and on the run, he stumbles upon a band of traveling actors. After winning the favor of the leader, Martin (Willem Dafoe), Nicholas puts his past behind him and joins the troupe.

Nicholas and company arrive in the next town just in time for the condemnation of a deaf-mute woman accused of murdering a young man. While Martin interviews the townsfolk about the crime in hopes of gathering material for a new play, Nicholas’ first gig becomes a quest for redemption. The woman (Elvira Minguez) proves her innocence to the strangers, and the fallen-priest-turned-actor will stop at nothing to rescue her. To win the support of the townsfolk, Martin’s gang decides to perform her true story.

Before adapting the tale to the stage, Nicholas must find the victim’s actual killer. The investigation of the murder is disjointed and poorly paced, leaving gaps of absolutely no action and overcomplicating the events of the crime. Nicholas attempts to establish suspects and a timeline, but gets nowhere without the help of a King’s Justice. The officer occasionally drops by with enough hints to get Nicholas back on track.

When the meetings start to add up, we can’t help but question why the ex-priest doesn’t leave the sleuthing to the professionals. After walking in circles with Nicholas and his poor detective work, the somewhat surprising truth behind the murder earns little more than a shrug.

“The Reckoning” grapples with adultery, plague and murder without moving beyond the surface of the potentially dramatic issues. Sadly, as soon as we meet Nicholas, the priest falls from grace via a sordid affair told through choppy cuts. After the life-altering event, McGuigan never gives us more of the character than a perpetual frown of remorse. While Black Plague victims are offhandedly mentioned, “The Reckoning” doesn’t come close to capturing the epidemic’s devastation.

Interaction between the main players leaves much to be desired. Nicholas and Martin are instant friends, yet their personal contact mainly consists of exchanging smiles and lucky pendants. The rest of the nomadic troupe, with the exception of grumpy Tobias (Brian Cox), is about as talkative and engaging as the horse pulling their wagon of props.

Before Martin and Nicholas try to enliven the stage, “The Reckoning” gives us a highly stylized glimpse of morality plays. The exaggerated movements and colorful sets seem to have fallen straight out of pre-Renaissance paintings.

When demonstrating the morality play’s poetic dialogue and ethereal atmosphere, the one-dimensionality of “The Reckoning” is appropriate. However, McGuigan’s method is ineffective when the troupe steps off the stage and tries to tackle real-life drama.

The Reckoning opens in theaters Friday.