woodabby Anyone who has read Mr Pierrepoint's book, seen his TV interviews or heard his radio interviews will know this film totally misrepresents his life, character and work.If you want to make fiction go ahead but don't pretend it's autobiography.There is zero evidence that Mr Pierrepoint was ever troubled or disturbed by his work, he viewed himself as a public servant who's duty was to perform his duties diligently and efficiently.The makers of this film chose to misuse Mr Pierrepoint as a vehicle for their own opinions knowing Mr Pierrepoint can not object.If you want to know the true story read Mr Pierrepoint's excellent autobiography, there are also interviews with him to be found online.

joanl-1 I found this film to be just fascinating. A family of executioners. How did he do it? The people who loved them. How it affected them. How professional he was and how respectful he was. How he did it as quickly as possible out of compassion for the convicted. He felt that he was providing a service for those who were convicted. He felt that as soon as the convicted had died, that they had then paid for their sins and were then sinless. His respect for the deceased and convicted. I loved it. It is all set in England in the 1930s. Albert is actually the son of a professional executioner and then decided that it was also his calling. A true story. I loved it.

CountZero313 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.

didi-5 This film details the life and career of Albert Pierrepoint, the Lancashire hangman and owner of the pub 'Help the Poor Struggler' from the 1930s through to the 1960s. His profession is in the blood - following in his father's footsteps - but until the war he stayed anonymous, not even discussing matters with his wife.Timothy Spall does well in the lead, although the historical accuracy is questionable in places. As a character study it works well, but ultimately it is a fairly depressing watch. The quotation at the end makes clear that Pierrepoint did become disillusioned with his quick and dispassionate job, moving from pride in the speed of his work to the feeling that something is inherently wrong with one person causing another's life to end with deliberate calculation.Pierrepoint is a film which raises a lot of questions, but ultimately treats them in a superficial way. Historical cases well documented such as Evans and Ellis pass by without much note, which depersonalises them and makes their inclusion something of a lost opportunity.