The Mortician (2012)

Such a frustrating disappointment

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

The Mortician (Method Man) is a lonely man with a scarred past, the kind of guy who keeps his mind occupied by throwing everything he is into his work. That all changes one night on the way home from work, when he witnesses a crime eerily similar to the one that made him the way he is. The Mortician is content to try to ignore what he saw, until he comes to realize it directly involves the young man he is mentoring and that inaction could destroy another family. This film was a bit of a surprise to me, in that it wasn't the horror film I was expecting. The preview made this film seem like it was horror, as do the title and cover art, not to mention it's on Lionsgate, which has become synonymous with B-movie horror in recent years. Perhaps the even bigger surprise was the star of the film, Method Man. Every single time I have seen him in a film, he's playing some thug or gang banger, so I figured that he was just another one of these rappers that Hollywood uses when they need to fill that type of role, but I was wrong. Despite the ridiculousness of a man who is nearly fifty years old still calling himself, Method Man, he can legitimately act. In fact, this film is quite dark and slow moving, even boring at times, but Method Man and the unique traits of his character, were the most interesting aspect of this film. Maybe I'm rating the film a bit higher than I should be, then again, my expectations were extremely low. The Mortician isn't a horror film and it doesn't move at a quick enough pace to even be labeled a thriller. The story is a decent one, albeit one that takes forever to get going, and the acting is much better than I would have expect from this cast. The Mortician wouldn't be my first choice by any means, but if you have the opportunity, I wouldn't skip it either.

If there ever was a time for Method Man to credit himself by his real name: Clifford Smith I feel this was the one to do it.Now don't get me wrong I think Method Man doing his thing is great (one of the better rappers turned actors for me) but with this one he truly did commit to do something different. And that's a big reason why I like this movie.He plays a lone-wolf mortician, a bit of an "social reject" if you will who unwillingly becomes dragged into a messy situation involving the local gang-members.The poster makes it look to me like more of a horror movie (which it's definitely not) and the synopsis is not really accurate (although I will try to update it so hopefully that will change).What it is is more of a drama and a character study of the mortician with moments of suspense and even though it has some flaws regarding the script and Method Man's everchanging beard the good most definitely outweighs the bad for me.

The Mortician, written and directed by Gareth Maxwell Roberts is a beautifully crafted example of emotionally powerful cinema. The film stars Method Man as a reclusive mortician. Who's life becomes turned upside down after a chain of events starting with receiving a new porter in the form of an ex-convict named Noah played by E.J. Bonilla. Soon after the body of a young woman with a tattoo of Venus arrives at the morgue and a young boy played by Cruz Santiago starts to repeatedly try to gain access to the building. Meanwhile a local gang leader played by Dash Mihok begins hassling the mortician each day asking if he has seen the young boy around setting the pieces into place to send the soft spoken mortician on a life changing journey that will ultimately force him to face a inner demon that has haunted him since childhood, forcing him out of his defensive shell created out of pain and loneliness.The first twenty minutes of this film are spent almost solely on character development of the mortician; we are given small glimpses into his day-to-day routines and personality. Quickly you forget its even Method Man on screen and only see the character himself due to his immensely believable performance. A lot of this development is done without dialog due to the reclusive nature of Method Man's character and instead portrayed through very visually descriptive scenes, often supported by excellent use of music that is relevant to the story, as well as ambient sounds to perfectly create the mood of each scene.After getting to know the mortician, the movie creeps into the main plot as each of the previously mentioned events start to connect in a very fluent fashion. Watching the mortician grow as the movie progresses from an almost emotionless robot into a big hearted kind human being is nothing shy of breath taking. This film really shines when it comes to invoking a response in the viewer, I found myself continuously becoming genuinely moved by the story that was unfolding in front of me.The writing is unbelievable in terms of high quality, the relationships between each of the main characters come together so perfectly, and authentic feeling that it is nearly impossible to not feel for their situation. This is especially true when it comes to the relationship between the mortician and Noah, at first, he can only see Noah as a criminal, and in return, Noah only sees the mortician as another person who does not care or understand who he really is or about his situation. The age-old message of never judge a book by its cover is one of many messages one could walk away with after viewing the movie. Each of the plot twists is pulled off flawlessly and the use of subtle hints through out the films build up form the perfect set up for the ending causing me to walk away completely rocked by the power of the films message.I briefly mentioned the use of music relevant to the story earlier, this is a aspect that continues through out the film and ends up creating one of the best movie soundtracks I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. This is one of those rare movies where the music does not feel like its just there for the sake of being there but instead honestly ads to the overall telling of the story.While the movie does feature a fair amount of imagery that some may find disturbing it falls more into the category of a gritty drama over any of the other genres it splashes over into. I think many horror fans will also be able to appreciate the macabre and somber tone the film takes on, a very interesting way to tell a story of redemption that is both unique and engaging. - The Liberal Dead

I recently attended a private screening of the film The Mortician in 3D directed by Gareth Roberts of Full Circle Films, a UK company. It stars Method Man in the lead role of the nameless Mortician, an introvert. The Mortician made its public debut at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 12, 2011, although not to rave reviews if you are a reader of Variety and Obsessed With Film, an obscure website. Both disliked the film, yet both reviews lacked any literary analysis concerning plot, theme, structure and the use of techniques such as flashback that assist the plot in creating and resolving the Mortician's internal and external conflicts.The plot of The Mortician has breadth and depth. Gareth introduces the Mortician through a series of chance meetings, meticulous work habits and a decaying city allowing Method Man to display his interpretation of the introverted Mortician. Method's performance is convincing as he dons a full beard, over-sized glasses and a bowler hat to assist his acting skills in physically depicting the meek Mortician. His facial expressions, soft spoken tone, and demure carriage were well placed throughout. The sequence of events changes tempo when the corpse of a young woman, Jenny, played by Judy Marte, is brought to the Mortician's morgue. As the Mortician cleans her body in preparation for the autopsy he notices a tattoo of Botticelli's Birth of Venus, which begins the rising action - a series of flashbacks hearkening the Mortician to his upbringing with a single mother, who unbeknownst to him as a child was a prostitute. The use of the flashback technique was masterful (compare it with Bordertown) as it becomes the catalyst through which the internal conflict is developed and is ultimately resolved through and with the external conflict.The external conflict centers around Kane, a young boy played by Cruz Santiago. Kane is trying to gain access to the morgue but is turned away by the Mortician. The Mortician notices that Kane is living on the street and being manhandled by the Mortician's assistant, Noah, played by EJ Bonilla and is also being hunted by the local gang leader Carver, played by Dash Mihok. Despite knowing the dangers Kane faces, the Mortician is unable and unwilling to intervene as he goes about his predictable introverted routine seeking interaction only with his regular prostitute, Ava, played by Dana Fuchs. The irony here is that the Mortician's relationship with Ava represents goodness and light amongst the decaying and violent city. Moreover, Gareth's choice of tastefully depicting this relationship reinforces this paradox.The Mortician's flashbacks coupled with his awareness of Kane's plight ultimately propel him to intercede on Kane's behalf and introduces us to the film's main theme - redemption. The redemptive power of reconciliation, forgiveness, and understanding are underscored through the Mortician's metamorphosis from an apathetic android to a caring human bringing us to the climax of the film, which has several interesting twists and turns.It is likely the 3D aspect probably boosted the funding of the film, but its value will probably be lost on a generation whose only association with 3D has been animation or action films, not drama. While The Mortician does have some significant action scenes, it is not enough to appease the expectation of 3D audiences. With that said, however, the use of 3D in this film did work quite well in bringing the setting to life and in the emotional close ups of the characters. The Mortician is a well told story that will draw you in emotionally, pique your interest and impress upon you the power of redemption.