A Rose Amidst The Stench

 Bond Meets Holmes Meets Cadfael

The Name of the Rose (1986) – An intellectual, rebellious Franciscan monk investigates a series of mysterious deaths at a Benedictine abbey. He faces inter-order rivalries, plus an old enemy from the Vatican.

Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud

Starring Sean Connery, Christian Slater, F. Murray Abraham, Ron Perlman, Michael Lonsdale.

Why I Liked It – Turns out Sean Connery is exactly the kind of monk you’d expect him to be.

There are so many interesting little things about this movie. Umberto Eco, who wrote the book, didn’t like the movie, and felt it was the least of the books that he’d written. Director Annaud cast the ugliest actors he could find for the brothers and villagers around the abbey. While visually epic, the movie is regularly disgusting. The filth of the middle ages sits at center stage, magnified by the insular, remote nature of the abbey. The truly ugly people are dressed the best. In Sherlock Holmes fashion, William of Baskerville (Connery, and yes, Baskerville) is the brilliant, iconoclastic mystery solving monk. His sidekick is Adso of Melk (played by the FIFTEEN YEAR OLD Slater), an overwhelmed chronicler who scuttles along in the great man’s wake. Along the way, William has made some enemies, especially Bernardo Gui (Abraham) of the Holy Inquisition. William struggles not only with the mysteries of the deaths, but also with questions of power and truth.

My honest reaction is that most people will either love or hate this movie. I can’t imagine too many being neutral about it. It’s long, it’s complicated, there’s a visceral, bloody aspect that can not be escaped. Some will find it challenging and cerebral, others will be bored stiff. I’m probably more on the bored side. I don’t hate the movie, but I don’t love it either. It’s too long, with unneeded complications. While theological debates about obscure points took place, the debate about whether Jesus owned his clothing offers nothing to advance the story. Likewise, the question of Adso’s sexual assignation isn’t worth the screen time. While it’s the central part of the narrator’s (Adso on his deathbed) tale, the movie shows how insignificant the event truly was. The battle between William and Bernardo is the center of the story.

Grandiose and gritty, “The Name of the Rose” fails to live up to that appearance.

You can stream “The Name of The Rose” on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Roku, Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex, Freevee or Vudu

Rating – *** Worth A Look