The Name Of The Rose Movie Review (1986)

With a slow trudge through the exposition, The Name Of The Rose slowly becomes a more interesting mystery and ends well, even though the first half is difficult to connect with.

Sometimes, there’s a movie that you have meant to watch for years, it just keeps slipping through your fingers. People talk about it and it gets built up, so you want to find the perfect time to watch it. I finally got to that moment with this film, and I’m now wondering what the fuss is about.

The Name Of The Rose is a movie about William of Baskerville, a Franciscan friar in the 14th century, who has arrived at an abbey with his assistant, the young Adso of Melk, to attend a dispute about poverty within the church. While there, several suspicious deaths take place, and William, who has an eye like Sherlock Holmes, sizes up what he thinks is really going on.

This drama (based on a book) is told through the eyes of Adso of Melk, who is now an old man on his deathbed, but remembers this part of his life so vividly that he has to share it.

I know that this is a popular film and I had great hopes for it, never having gotten around to watching it before, but I found it extremely uneven. The narrative in the first hour, for me, was painful and boring. I did not connect to it in any way whatsoever, even though I enjoyed watching both Sean Connery and Christian Slater.

At the midpoint, things started to pick up. There is a beautiful and intimate scene between the two men (William being the mentor of Adso) where William divulges some of his past as well as the unspoken regret that hangs in the air. That was very near the moment that the movie began to intrigue me.

Sean Connery being who he is, I began to see flecks of Henry Jones’s character in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. He laughed similarly, got excited similarly – and I love that particular movie. It was at this point that I began imagining him as the same man, just earlier in his life. I know that’s not what’s supposed to be, but it made me enjoy the film much more.

The Name Of The Rose was made 40 years ago, so it is unfair to attach today’s standards, and I try very hard not to do that. That said, some of the makeup and prosthetics in this film served as a huge distraction. There was no need for some of the fake noses or other facial alterations to make everyone look suspicious or shady, but perhaps this isn’t how they were thinking during the time of filming.

I truly loved the last 2 minutes of the film in tone, visuals, and story. It was by far my favorite part, next to the intimate scene between Connery and Slater.

I do not understand why this film needed to be as long as it is, and I would have more grace if I felt like the first hour did anything other than set up suspicion. But again, this is a film that has lived in the ether for many years and people do love it. So maybe this is just me.

Runtime: 126 minutes

Motion Picture Rating: R

Languages Spoken In The Film: English, Italian, German, and Latin with English subtitles

Should You Watch It? No, unless you are curious (many people enjoyed it)

Did I Cry? Nope

My Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

Available: Free on Tubi, o rent on Prime Video, or may be available for free on other streaming platforms