Movie Night With Lauren #2: From Hick to Black Death thanks to Eddie Redmayne. Check out the explanation for Movie Night here.
First Thing’s First: Does Eddie Redmayne have a small bald spot on the back of his head? I get that he’s playing a monk, but I just can’t stop laughing at the idea of him shaving that spot into his head every morning before work. It’s a tad distracting.
Basic Synopsis: During the time of the bubonic plague in the mid 1300s, a monk must lead a group of men to a village that is reportedly home to a witch with a flair for resurrecting the dead.
Brief Thoughts: There goes the Red Woman being all untrustworthy again!
This is a movie I’ve skipped over numerous times while flipping through my Netflix Instant options, but now with the new setup to Movie Night With Lauren, Black Death went to the front of the list of the options I was looking at following Hick. Thank goodness it’s far better than what I originally expected, which was something closer to Nicholas Cage’s Season of the Witch. Once the necromancer was introduced, Black Death sticks closer to reality than expected, but that’s OK considering the bubonic plague is horrifying enough all on it’s own. What are those armpit lumps!?
Black Death is a dark movie (both in tone and appearance) with brutal fights (sure, the plague is killing people left and right but I am going to bite a chunk out of this stranger anyway) and characters that would have been interesting to explore deeper had there been the chance to do so. And just as I was surprised by my failed expectations before, I was again caught off guard when there was an added turn towards the psychological.
Randomly Awesome Quote: While Redmayne’s character is freaking out about God punishing him, Sean Bean drops the line: “God has better things to think of.” That’s right, Redmayne! There are bigger things than you and your little bald spot!
Final Thoughts: This is an example of when forcing myself to watch movies that I hadn’t considered before turns out well. Yay Black Death! …Never thought I would say that…
Next Rental Up: Sean Bean leads to The Martian and Carice van Houten leads to Intruders or From Time to Time (both of which are on Netflix Instant currently). This choice is an easy one. Now to get my hands on a copy of The Martian!
Middle of the Row 