Released: 2011
Director: A.D. Barker
Not Rated
Run Time: 101 Minutes
Genre: Drama/Mystery
Cast:
Leslie Simpson: The Lone Man
Axelle Carolyn: The Woman
Daniel Tee: The Red Death
Marcus Green: The Master of Ceremonies
There’s a reason why I really enjoy doing what I do here on this site. Obviously, I love movies. Big budget, low budget, NO budget; there is always some value to be had from watching movies. I love movies that take me by surprise. These ones often come in under the radar. Lord of Tears, Weapon of Choice, and The Neighbor are just a handful of movies that I’ve managed to discover or was told about. How many of them are actually good? Not as many as one would think, but more than you would anticipate. But every once in a while, you come across a film that some could consider to be somewhat….profound. A Reckoning is one such movie. Shot at an abandoned RAF air base for two weeks, A Reckoning shakes up your average post-apocalyptic film quite a bit.
A story like this can be very difficult to describe, especially if you’re trying to avoid spoilers. The film is set after an unspecified apocalyptic event that has left essentially one man left alive. This lone figure used to be a school teacher, as we see him basically go through the motions on a daily basis, trying to educate his students. The problem…..is that the students are made of straw. I’m going to leave the story’s description at that, because anything further will ruin what the film is trying to say. The post-apocalyptic genre is loaded with different kinds of stories, ranging from action to horror. Very rarely, though, do we get a movie that takes a look at what would happen to a person after a major catastrophic event. A Reckoning is a character study of sorts into how a person would respond to an apocalyptic event. We don’t see what caused the event, but little clues here and there give a slight indication of what might have happened. The film is smart to avoid explaining that. The film is a comment on the human race as creatures of habit, even in the face of catastrophe.
This is essentially a one-man show with Leslie Simpson. That being said, his performance is absolutely astonishing. We see his character go through the motions initially, going to class to teach, but over the course of the film, the character starts to unravel, as it were. He starts hallucinating and seeing things that may or may not be there. Leslie’s performance is a heartbreaking one. This is a character that had pretty much everything and lost it all in the blink of an eye, and yet he’s still trying to hold on to what he used to be. Leslie Simpson is a revelation, and we don’t really get a lot of movies that have this much character depth. Leslie obviously had to prepare for his role, because it takes place in the snow in an abandoned town. It really looks like Leslie was put through the ringer, here, and the film is all the better for it. Occasionally, we do see other people, but whether or not they are real is left to the viewer’s imagination. This is definitely Leslie’s show, through and through.
Visually, this is an absolutely stunning film. It’s beautifully bleak, as I like to say. The environments in the film are obviously on location, but it definitely looks like the apocalypse happened. With all the snow on the ground, it’s pretty unsettling. Not only that, but the camera work is incredible. There’s a lot of different angles used, as well as different visuals that really sell the hopelessness of the film. Post-apocalyptic movies are also about isolation, and what we see in A Reckoning is clearly that. If you were the last person on earth, you would feel pretty isolated. But getting back to the visuals, the detail in this film is remarkable right down to the snowfall. The music is also something that’s just phenomenal. It’s not bombastic or epic. It’s far more….personal and uses a lot of string instruments. It really gives the film its proper mood.
I can’t really think of many nitpicks for this movie. A Reckoning is a very internalized and personal look at one person’s journey through the apocalypse. Movies like this aren’t always the easiest to sit through, because it requires more of its audience than just watching it. It wants you to experience it. It wants you to look inside and ask yourself how you would deal with a situation like this. The film’s message is obviously open to interpretation, but I have to say, it is one of the most unique experiences I’ve had. It’s movies like A Reckoning that make what I do so rewarding. It’s not going to be for everyone, as it is pretty slow, but that’s done on purpose. I was fully engaged from beginning to end. I was heavily invested in the character and the world that he inhabits. If you’re curious, this is one to seek out, if you can.
My Final Recommendation: A Reckoning is a force to be reckoned with. 9/10