Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
14th-century Franciscan monk William of Baskerville and his young novice arrive at a conference to find that several monks have been murdered under mysterious circumstances. To solve the crimes, William must rise up against the Church's authority and fight the shadowy conspiracy of monastery monks using only his intelligence; which is considerable.
The Name of the Rose is a richly atmospheric medieval murder mystery that excels in several dimensions. Sean Connery delivers one of his finest performances as the razor-sharp William of Baskerville, and F. Murray Abraham is genuinely menacing as the inquisitor Bernardo Gui — the acting is a clear strength. The cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli is exceptional: the labyrinthine monastery, candlelit scriptoria, and fog-shrouded exteriors create an almost palpable sense of dread and claustrophobia. The plot, drawn from Umberto Eco's dense novel, weaves theological debate, murder investigation, and institutional corruption into a genuinely involving and intelligent mystery. Novelty is solid but not exceptional — the medieval mystery genre has antecedents, and the film is largely faithful to the book's established structure, making it distinguished rather than wholly singular. The ending, while thematically appropriate in its bleakness (the library burns, truth is suppressed), is somewhat abrupt and emotionally unsatisfying, feeling more deflationary than cathartic given the buildup.