The film “Witches' Time”, released in 2011, can hardly be ranked as a project that claims to be the standard in the fantasy thriller genre in terms of tension and entertainment. Nevertheless, some fans of such films, the brainchild of the director Dominic Sena, will surely like it, if only because the actors starring in the main roles in The Witches' Time are truly stellar: Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman.
Short storyline
The actors of the film “Time of the Witches”, embodying the idea of ​​the creators, presented the following story to the audience. The action takes place in the 14th century on the expanses of the devastated plague of Europe, where the deserted protagonists return: knight Baiman and his faithful friend and ally Felson. The warriors spent most of their lives in the Crusades, bravely fought in the Holy Land, but decided to leave the “army of God,” since they were no longer able to take the lives of innocent infidels.
The terrible fate befell the locality, the poor young peasant woman, who seemed the embodiment of innocence and defenselessness, but recognized by the church as a witch, was accused. The dying cardinal asks the main characters to escort the sorceress to a remote abbey, where the monks will be able to destroy her spell. Six brave men, together with a wagon in which the accused languishes in an iron cage, set off on the road. Soon, the knights realize that they are not guarding the man, but the true fiend of hell.
One of the advantages of the tape
Perhaps, it was because of the plot component of the thriller “Time of the Witches”, the actors and roles of which were selected very organically, the film received a low IMDb rating (5.40) and a lot of skeptical reviews, since the main characters of the movie experts did not cause any special complaints. The lead actors are truly stellar: Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman. Although many reviewers noted that the image of the knight Cage is not very suitable, unlike the magician-sorcerer (a reference to the film "Sorcerer's Apprentice"). But his screen partner in the role of his character is very expressive and convincing. Ron Perlman did not arouse any crumpled emotions from critics. In any case, the idea that the movie "Time of the Witches" actors Cage and Perlman pulled to a decent level, did not cause protest.
Passion for Cage
Definitely the thriller “Time of the Witches” (2011) actors - performers of the main roles - decorated with their participation. Although many filmmakers were worried about the success of Dominic Sen when they found out that he invited Nicholas to the main role. The fact is that all the tapes with his participation in recent years turned out to be practically disastrous. It all started with the dilogy “Treasure of the Nation,” followed by “The Wicker Man,” “Prophet,” and “Sign”, which also dangerously teetered on the brink. The fantasy adventure film "Sorcerer's Apprentice", in which Cage was reincarnated as the magician Balthazar Blake, turned out to be very funny, sweet and instructive at the same time, but a little crazy. With the tape "Witch's Time" is almost the same story. The picture is interesting, thought out in detail and beautiful, but sometimes the narrative resembles delirium. Rather, the reason for this is the flaw in the script, because the idea is intriguing, it develops with dignity and keeps the viewer in suspense the entire timing of the tape, to the climax. The finale is similar to sad absurdity. Looking at this, the viewer sincerely regrets the talented actors taking part in it.
Realistic Screen Tandem
It is not surprising that it was the actors who named the virtue of the tape. The performers of the roles of the key characters show what real medieval knights should be like. This is a sublime and intelligent Bayman (Cage) and a manly shirt-guy Felson (Perlman). The actors managed to create such a realistic screen tandem, which, according to the audience, corresponded not only to the atmosphere of the film, but also to the spirit of the whole era. Their characters look fabulous, brutal and comical at the same time, their duet can be safely inserted into any pseudo-historical picture of any genre. Cage's sad eyes make him believe in deep concern about what is happening. And the Hellboy star Guillermo Del Toro evokes sympathy even without makeup, his facial expression encourages the viewer to smile even at the most inappropriate moments. At the same time, in the movie “Witch Time”, the actors shine even in the supporting roles, showing a high level of professionalism.
Travel companions
“Time of the Witches” (film 2011), the actors who played the role of fellow travelers of the central characters, made popular with different social layers of the audience.
The Englishman Stephen Campbell Moore reincarnated as a priest in Debelzac. Thanks to his professionalism, the character turned out to be very colorful.
The image of the knight Johann Eckhardt was successful for the Danish actor Ulrich Thomsen, who was immediately invited to "Something" after the completion of the filming process.
The promising young performer Robert Sheehan played the role of “humanity's hope for a brighter future” by Kaya von Wallenbart. Although, observing the actions of the star of the youth drama “Cherry bomb” and “Garbage”, a person sometimes catches himself thinking that now he will start to undress or dazzle with obscene abuse, like his characters from the mentioned tapes. The actor has not yet got rid of the past roles of his heroes.
Guilty without guilt
But the actors Cage and Perlman felt a particular competition in the film “Witch Time” from the performer of the role of the young actress accused of witchcraft Claire Foy. The English performer brilliantly managed to combine treachery, defenselessness and charm in her heroine. Her mastery is beyond praise - every emotion turned out to be real. The character of the obsessed peasant woman Anna provokes a storm of ambiguous feelings: at first participation and sympathy, after - doubts and suspicions, and in the final - disgust with an admixture of hatred. It is no coincidence that her image was called the trump card of the film. Unfortunately, the actress, who plays the role of the second plan, was not able to overshadow the wise experience of the mastodons of the cinema Cage and Perlman. Ultimately, for a quality tape, a brighter background is nonsense in itself.
For realism
Witch Time is a film whose actors and roles are currently known to every fan of the genre. The exception was only animals. In the filming of the scene, the pursuit of the main characters was attended by wolves. The director insisted on the participation of real predators, not agreeing to replace them with a computer image. Then the production group turned for help to the well-deserved eminent trainer Zoltan Horkai. Under his strict guidance and observation, seven animals were shot in the episode, with each wolf performing certain actions on the screen.
As a result, the tape received disappointing reviews from film critics. But the viewer reacted to the project of Dominic Sena more favorably. You can recommend a picture for viewing at least because you enjoy the skill of your favorite artists.