A Morbid Taste for Bones
A medieval Benedictine monk with a penchant for solving mysteries using deductive reasoning, Brother Cadfael, as expertly portrayed by actor Derek Jacobi in a series of programs produced for British television, tackles a murder case that grows out of a search for the bones of a martyred saint. Traveling from the Abbey of Shrewsbury to Wales after a young monk claims to have had a vision of the martyred St. Winifred, Cadfael and his fellow monks locate the holy relics, which they hope to return to their own abbey. The locals, however, insist that their beloved saint's bones shall remain in Wales, and the monks find themselves being thwarted by a proud Welsh lord who is soon found murdered. The suspicious locals point fingers at the English monks and at a young man in love with the lord's daughter. Cadfael, with the help of a beautiful and plucky heroine (played by Anna Friel), finally figures it all out and justice is ultimately done. The plot has some intelligent and unexpected twists, and fine acting from the supporting cast provides a solid complement to Jacobi's understated performance as the detective monk. Also worth noting is the artfully rendered historical ambience that makes this film, like others featuring Brother Cadfael, worthwhile even for those who don't generally watch mysteries.--Robert J. McNamara