PIERREPOINT

"Do you want to know what I've been doing today?"

The British form of capital punishment has always been hanging but the country's chief hangman Albert Pierrepoint is the most efficient and professional. Never judging the prisoners for what they have done, he makes the promise that their death will be quick and painless and treats they with respect. When his professionalism alerts the British government and Field Marshal Montgomery, he is sent to Germany to oversee the execution of Nazi war criminals. Pierrepoint has always kept his job private and personal but when the public discover who he is, he becomes the focal point for the argument against capital punishment in Britain.

Capital punishment has always been a contentious issue but what is it actually like to be the executioner who actually has to take those lives?

Until 1964, the death sentence has been a part of justice in Great Britain for centuries with hanging from the neck the preferred method of execution. Thought to be quicker and more humane than lethal injection, electrocution or firing squad, hanging became the way the British government dealt murders, traitors and other hardened criminals. Support for any form of capital punishment has always been an issue that has raised much argument and debate but what does it actually feel like to put someone to death.

Albert Pierrepoint was considered by the prison system and the British government as the most efficient executioner they had. He prided himself in treating the condemned prisoner with respect, both before and after death. He and his assistant would march into the waiting room with great speed and conviction, marching the prisoner to the gallows and then hanging them, killing them instantly in less than fifteen seconds. The man took pride in his work and never judged a prisoner for what they had done to deserve the most severe of sentences.

The film is about how he coped with doing what he did for a living and it is a story that is fascinating and moving. Pierrepoint never told anyone, except his wife Annie, what he did for a living, keeping everything very private and personal as a way of dealing with his own demons. It is only when he is charged by Field Marshal Montgomery to execute German war criminals after the end of the Second World War, do the people who know him discover what he does. This brings the gravity of his job to bear and makes him question for the first time if he is personally doing the right thing.

Bringing the story of Albert Pierrepoint to life is a sterling performance from Timothy Spall. Better known as Barry from 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet', people easily forget that he is an excellent actor who has been a stalwart of British independent film and has also been making inroads into Hollywood, starring in some big blockbusters. As Albert Pierrepoint he creates a character that is totally efficient in what he does, even to the point that he is competitive with father's execution times but it is when his inner demons start to surface that the quality of Spall's performance comes through. Eddie Marsan is also extremely good as Pierrepoint's best friend Tish and Juliet Stevenson is good as his wife Annie.

'Pierrepoint' is a fascinating insight in the life of an executioner. While it might not go into the moralistic side of the augment for and against capital punishment, it successfully delves into problems faced by anyone who had to take a persons life in the name of justice.