Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman (2005)

This 2005 film stars 'Auf Wiedersehen Pet' actor Timothy Spall as Britain's most efficient and prolific hangman, Albert Pierrepoint.Grocery man Albert, married to Annie (Juliet Stevenson), lives a fairly normal life, except his Father and Uncle are hangmen. In 1932, the time comes for Albert to follow in the family footsteps. He manages his early jobs without gaining recognition, such as the execution of the murderer Dorothea Waddingham (Lizzie Hopley). By 1945, Albert has gained a reputation as the most efficient hangman in the country, leading to him being selected to fly to Germany and carry out the execution of around 200 Nazi war criminals, due to their part in the Holocaust. He becomes well known in the British press, seen by the newspapers as something of a hero. But how will the quiet Albert deal with this sudden fame and will it affect his ability to pull off capital punishment?This was a powerful bit of cinema, very thought provoking. As expected, Spall puts in an outstanding performance as Pierrepoint. I particularly liked his moral standards, such as during the day he had to execute thirteen Nazi war criminals. Only twelve coffins were at the prison and he was told just to put the last one 'in the ground'. He refuses to do this, stating this man has paid the price for what he's done and he will be buried with dignity. As predicted, Albert can't deal with the sudden rush of fame (both positive and negative publicity) and things come to a head when he executes his friend Tish (Eddie Marsan) who murdered his ex-girlfriend. He can no longer live with being a hangman and resigns.The film ends with a note saying Pierrepoint died an opponent of capital punishment. It didn't act as a deterrent, only a form of revenge. I have to say, I agree and am glad capital punishment was finally abolished in 1965. If one looks at the current case of Ian Brady, the Moors Murderer who clearly wants to die, then it is doing some good keeping him alive. Hanging would be way too good for him.

Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew from Harry Potter), Eddie Marsan, and Juliet Stevenson star in a film about a man (Spall) who follows in his father's footsteps to become the best hangman in England.What strikes you first is the detachment with which he does his job. He does not become personally involved, just do it quick and professional.Outside the job, he is a grocer, and a character that would never be connected with being a hangman: he sings and dances, and enjoys comedies.After he was chosen to execute 47 German prisoners of war, he changed. His identity became known, and he became the target of those who wished to abolish the death penalty.His calm composure starts to unravel little by little.His last two shown were the tipping point.Spall was outstanding in this film, and had great support from Marsan and Stevenson. It was an intelligent and captivating drama.

Timothy Spall is mesmerising in this tale set just before the curtain came down on Britain's use of capital punishment. Pierrepoint is the quintessential professional hangman; efficient, thorough, meticulous, and humane to boot. He starts out with no reservations about the task he is charged to carry out. Times change and the man changes with them; when he starts to question the system and his role in it, the moral weight of his actions prove, inevitably, too much to bear. Spall depicts this journey towards self-realisation and a kind of collapse as impeccably as Pierrpoint himself went about his business. Given the baubles handed out for impersonation in films such as Ray and Capote, it is surprising the Academy overlooked this captivating performance.Here in Japan, hanging is still very much in vogue, carried out under a veil of secrecy in the name of a public who are by and large ignorant and apathetic as to what role capital punishment plays in their society. Is it possible to enjoy this film without taking sides on the debate about capital punishment? I can't imagine so. Like 10 Rillington Place, the film shows very clearly why capital punishment became untenable in British society, and subsequently why it is unlikely ever to make a return. Pierrpoint strikes the right balance between showing a society in change, and the effects of that change on one man and his family. This is an important film in social terms, and a triumph in film-making ones.

PIERREPOINT: THE LAST HANGMAN is one of those films that emerges from the cracks in the theater 'failures' only to find its poignant message when released on DVD. Granted, the idea of a story based on England's most famous executioner doesn't immediately catch the interest of the general audience, but for those fortunate enough to either rent or buy this DVD, the rewards are plentiful. It is a little masterpiece of writing, acting, directing and production values.Albert Pierrepoint was the third man in his family to 'ascend' to the list of executioners (capital punishment in England at the time was by hanging), and when he is accepted to the list in 1932 he begins what became the longest and most prolific career of British executioners. He took enormous pride in his work, assuring his peers as well as his 'victims' that every aspect of his job was done with obsessive professionalism: his timing of his duties was the shortest on record, meaning that from the moment he opened the door to the condemned prisoner's room through the hooding and noose placement and tripping of the platform and subsequent death of the 'criminal', he spared suffering as much as was feasible. He was supported by a wife who kept the secret of her husband's anonymous role and it was only when the Pierrepoint's pride in his job became known that downfall of their lives is threatened. At times adored by the public for his assignment to hand the Nazi criminals and the famous murderers and eventually the target of the anti capital punishment activists, Pierrepoint's professionalism sustained him until a final tragic assignment changed his view of his job.Timothy Spall is splendid as Pierrepoint, capturing all of the nuances of the simple, honest man's pride as well as his Achilles' heel. Juliet Stevenson turns in yet another understated and completely realized role as Pierrepoint's wife. Director Adrian Shergold, using a script written by Bob Mills and Jeff Pope, paces the film sensitively, drawing on the atrocious duties involved in the job of executioner (they actually had to prepare the bodies of the dead victims for the morticians!) along with the moments of pub frivolity to allow the audience to understand the true person Timothy Spall absorbs in his portrayal of Pierrepoint. The sets and lighting and cinematography could not be better. This is a film to view and absorb and appreciate the superior quality of acting of Spall and Stevenson. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp