RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / Upcoming / Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman
Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Bookmark and Share

Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman (2007)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
78 %
Tomatometer

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted: 49

Fresh: 38

Rotten:11

Average Rating: 7.1/10

Consensus: Director Adrian Shergold doesn't shy away from the darker elements of the movie's subject, and Timothy Spall is mesmerizing as the title character.

Runtime: 90 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $0

Synopsis: Timothy Spall (Professor Pettigrew from the Harry Potter movies) gives a magnificently multilayered performance as the protagonist in PIERREPOINT: THE LAST HANGMAN. Spall plays Albert Pierrepoint,... Timothy Spall (Professor Pettigrew from the Harry Potter movies) gives a magnificently multilayered performance as the protagonist in PIERREPOINT: THE LAST HANGMAN. Spall plays Albert Pierrepoint, a grocery deliveryman who decides to apply for his father's old job--a hangman for the British courts. Soon he is perfecting the execution procedure, fulfilling his duties in record time and with no problems whatsoever. Though proud of his success, Pierrepoint prefers to keep it to himself, not even telling his wife, Anne (Juliet Stevenson), what he does when he leaves the house for days at a time. But when General Montgomery himself (Clive Francis) asks Pierrepoint to execute dozens of Nazis who have been sentenced to death, for the first time Pierrepoint starts questioning what he does, and soon his relatively calm, quiet world is turned upside down. Based on a true story, PIERREPOINT: THE LAST HANGMAN is a gripping period drama, bathed in grays by cinematographer Danny Cohen and production designer Candida Otton. Spall is mesmerizing as Pierrepoint, his slow walk and penetrating eyes filling the screen. Stevenson is excellent as his loyal wife, standing by him through thick and thin. PIERREPOINT is directed with careful precision by Adrian Shergold, a longtime actor and television director who trained at the feet of Mike Leigh, who has cast Spall in many of his own films. And Eddie Marsan excels as Tish, a compatriot of Pierrepoint's who lands himself in a very nasty bit of trouble. [More]

Starring: Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson, Eddie Marsan, James Corden

Starring: Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson, Eddie Marsan, James Corden, Christopher Fulford, Tobias Menzies, Tim Woodward

Director: Adrian Shergold

Director: Adrian Shergold
Screenwriter: Bob Mills, Jeff Pope
Producer: Christine Langan
Composer: Martin Phipps
Studio: IFC Films

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Trailer
    >
1 of 1

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

A suitably sombre treatment of a sombre story, Pierrepoint is nevertheless a riveting drama, sketching out not only the salient facts of Albert Pierrepoint's life but the turmoil in which that life caused in his soul

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/09/07
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The key to the film is in the performances by Spall and Stevenson -- and by Marsan. The utter averageness of the characters, their lack of insight, their normality, contrasts with the subject matter in an unsettling way.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
11/02/07
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Albert Pierrepoint single-handedly killed over 450 people in his career, dispatching most of them with an icy precision in less than 30 seconds.

Full Review Source: Monsters and Critics | comment Comment
09/07/07
Ron Wilkinson
Monsters and Critics

Spall is more than worthy of future leading roles.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
08/07/07
Matthew Sorrento
Film Threat

Overdramatizes Albert's 24-year career.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
07/13/07
Mike Russell
Oregonian

Based on their press materials, they think they have made a film damning capital punishment and exploring Britain's most famous executioner. In fact, they haven't. But they have made a film of artistic beauty and endless fascination.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
07/10/07
Harry Chotiner
culturevulture.net

Grim and disturbing yet perversely riveting.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
06/22/07
Ruthe Stein
San Francisco Chronicle

The movie grows more compelling in the latter half as British public opinion turns against capital punishment and Pierrepoint begins to have his own doubts.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
06/21/07
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader

There is a great deal of food for thought in a film that personalizes the effects of the death penalty on both the executed and the executioner.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
06/19/07
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

A genuine and skillful account of one of Britain's most morally ambiguous working-class characters.

Full Review Source: Sympatico.ca | comment Comment
06/18/07
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca

...a powerful pairing of work by two terrific actors [Spall and Stevenson].

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
06/16/07
Laura Clifford
rec.arts.movies.reviews

The very title of this movie seems to message its doom. What could possibly be dramatic enough about Britain's last hangman to carry our interest over a 90-minute film? A whole lot, it turns out.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
06/15/07
Susan Walker
Toronto Star

A completely engaging film. It's all about performance, and Timothy Spall is riveting as the earnest hangman. If you're desperate for a movie that has nothing to do with sequels or product placement, look no further.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
06/15/07
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

[The film's] grittiness instantly adds to the historically and socio-economically convincing picture of working-class Yorkshire in the last century.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
06/15/07
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail

Very much a bookend to Vera Drake in its mixture of post war British reserve and ugly reality. [Actor] Spall makes it work, creating a little man with big and terrible secrets.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
06/15/07
Ty Burr
Boston Globe

Somewhere in this true story lies a grand statement about what taking lives for a living really does to a person’s moral compass. [Director] Adrian Shergold never quite finds it; his film dutifully recounts the facts but only skims the surface.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
06/09/07
David Fear
Time Out New York

The shot angles, the gray look of the film as a whole and Timothy Spall’s spectacular and understated performance as Pierrepoint make this one of the most powerful anti-capital punishment films I’ve seen.

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
06/09/07
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan

Handsomely crafted and well-acted, but its sense of scale is as constricted as a noose.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
06/09/07
Noel Murray
AV Club

It's Timothy Spall who really carries the film.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
06/08/07
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger

You have to wonder just how true to life the melodramatic depiction of these events is.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
06/08/07
V.A. Musetto
New York Post
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman

May 31, 2007: Critical Consensus: "Knocked Up" Is A Knockout; "Mr. Brooks," "Gracie" Less So
This week at the movies we've got matters of life ("Knocked Up," starring Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen), death ("Mr. Brooks," starring Kevin Costner and... More...

See More Topics...

Related Forums for Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman

Click here to be the first to post a message on this forum.

See All

More Movies

Coming Soon in Australia
Tomatometer Percentage Movie Date
—
Harry Potter and the H… 15/7
12%
12%
My Life in Ruins 16/7
72%
72%
The Escapist 16/7
—
Mes Amis, Mes Amours 16/7

What’s Hot On RT

Directors transform

Directors transform

What if Michael Bay wasn't director?

New Alice Pics

New Alice Pics

Glimpse Tim Burton's vision of Wonderland.

Public Enemies Clips

Public Enemies Clips

Latest videos from Depp and Mann

Best Movie Robots

Best Movie Robots

We pick the 50 best 'bots of all time

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
88
  • Brandon Routh Talks Superman's Future Source: Moviehole
90
  • Sony's Amy Pascal Explains Moneyball Balk Source: Los Angeles Times
6
  • Three Theaters Getting Harry Potter in IMAX Opening Day Source: Collider.com
18
  • Weekly Ketchup: Adam Sandler joins The Zookeeper, David Fincher joins Facebook
72
  • Zak Penn Talks The Avengers Source: Sci Fi Wire
20
  • Watchmen Director's Cut Headed to Theaters Source: Collider.com
32
  • Lorenzo di Bonaventura Talks G.I. Joe, Beverly Hills Cop 4, More Source: Collider.com
14
  • (Teaser) Trailer Bulletin: The Last Airbender Source: MTV
61
  • Johnny Depp Talks Alice, Pirates 4, Dark Shadows Source: Collider.com
12
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Critics Consensus: Solid Public Enemies Doesn't Quite Bring The Noise
104
  • Total Recall: Johnny Depp's Best Movies
88
  • Five Favorite Films with Fred Durst
87
  • RoboGeisha: 2009's Most Insane Trailer?
79
  • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
44
  • RT on DVD: Street Fighter, Transmorphers 2, and Uwe Boll's Tunnel Rats!
36
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Transformers and Ice Age Tie for Top Spot
33
  • Academy Invites Tyler Perry, Michael Cera, Seth Rogen to Join Oscar Ranks
28
  • Box Office Guru Preview: Dinosaurs and Gangsters Spark Fireworks
23
  • Karl Malden: 1912-2009
17
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • RT Interview: Director Carlos Cuaron on Rudo and Cursi
0
  • RT Interview: Tony Scott on The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
10
  • Cannes 2009: RT Interview - Sally Hawkins on We Want Sex
2
  • RT Interview: Tilda Swinton on Julia
5
  • Hollywood Legend Debbie Reynolds Reflects On her Life in Showbiz
10
  • Exclusive: McG Talks Terminator Salvation
24
  • Georgia Groome - Fresh Talent on RT
5
  • RT Interview: Reading The Reader with Stephen Daldry
11
  • RT Interview: Oscar Nominee Melissa Leo
7
  • Carey Mulligan - Fresh Talent on RT
7
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman at IGN
  • Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
10 Questions for JJ Abrams
10 Questions for JJ Abrams External Link

J.J. Abrams has done it all: writing, producing, and directing for TV and movies. He answers reader questions here for TIME.

50 Greatest Movie Trailers
50 Greatest Movie Trailers External Link

IFC channel counts down the best film trailers, ever. Allegedly...

Shut the f**k up, Donny
Shut the f**k up, Donny External Link

Forget the AFI, here's the other 100 Greatest Movie Quotes...

Competitions
Win <em>Transformers</em> Generation One Packs!
Win Transformers Generation One Packs! External Link

Prime old-school animation action to win, thanks to Madman

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.