The Reckoning was full of great actors, suspense and twists, yet when compared with the original book, 'Morality Play', it doesn't measure up. While there was more drama, the movie didn't remain true to the era it was supposed to be portraying. Even though it was interesting, there were bits of drama that made it much less enjoyable. The main dramatic element was the death of Nicholas at the end of the film. He died trying to do what was right, which was not the greatest ending to the film. There were many more differences between the movie and the book, and while those differences made the film more entertaining, it seemed as if it lost a bit of it's credibility. A big change that shouldn't have been made toward the end of the movie, was when Sarah, (Margaret in the book), was allowed to become part of the ending play. In the book, she was not even allowed to vote on group decisions, let alone be part of a play. This section of the movie wasn't true to the book, it was also untrue to the customs of the Middle Ages. Women were not often valued enough in society to be given formal places in plays or groups. The Reckoning didn't focus enough on the some of the issues that were defining factors of the Middle Ages. One scene actually showed people worried about the plague, which was a huge problem then, but wasn't a significant focus for the rest of the movie. With more focus on the plague, it would have seemed as if it was actually taking place in the Middle Ages. Christianity was a big focus in the book, but not as much in the movie. The majority of people in that era were Christian, yet there was only one main scene that brought Christianity into action. There should have been more time spent focusing on this, as Christianity was one of the biggest influences in that society. It also should have spent more time on describing the corruption of the Church that was occurring. There were priests and monks breaking vows left and right, which seemed to be semi-acceptable! Nicholas admitted practicing adultery, which was laughed off by the players. In the book, there was a priest that had clearly broken his vows, and everyone in the group seemed accepting of his actions. The corruption of the Church is a main component of this story, and in the film it wasn't shown to the extent it could have been. When comparing the book to the movie, the story line and the themes of the book were more effectively articulated, because it remained true to societal norms of the Middle Ages. The book seemed to have a better understanding of what it was supposed to be portraying. It weaved the interesting story lines through the historically accurate Middle Aged world the author had created. It's blend of fiction and the true Middle Ages made the book balanced and enjoyable. The movie focused more on the dramatic elements than the accurate history, which, in turn, took away from the truthfulness of The Reckoning. Overall, I would rate this movie a 6 out of 10, because it was entertaining and intriguing, but lacked historical accuracy.
Review of The Reckoning
