Amazing thriller based on a great book

Umberto Eco's book is every bit as enthralling as this medieval thriller. Sean Connery is just sublimely perfect. He's always been a great actor without being typecast as iconic James Bond with hits from Untouchables and Indiana Jones Last Crusade to offbeat ones like Zardoz. His presence is imposing along with his gravitas and delivery. Perfect actor for this role.
On flip side, Christian Slater was just amazing. Perfect opposite casting as the young and scared and learning disciple.
The story revolves around deaths in an Italian abbey where there's a lot more monks than books with them being all secluded and living an unnatural life. This is as in, humans have evolved with basic primary purpose of propagation of species as Darwin found out. We have evolved to mate and produce offspring for which our senses and organs are fine tuned over million years of evolution. We are just cousins of apes and chimps on the DNA tree of life.
Hence, living as monks suppressing natural mating desires is sure to not go down well and hence there is breaking of their own monk rules going on along with their own created commandments with the ghastly one - thou shalt not kill.
It is here we see Sean Connery shine as an erudite logical analyst and contrasts so well against the Bernardo Gui's illogical "she's a witch, burn her" type inquisition chief who displays astounding stupidity, played perfectly well by the actor.
The Bond villain, Lonsdale was well cast as a lead monk and appears just enough nefarious to throw you off as well.
Slater's questions and expressing his naive desires was also so well interwoven into the movie.

It's a great examination of what it is to be human with all our moods and whims and fancies and breaking our own self created rules. Aliens would look at us and smile given how we seem to profess superiority despite being just another species on the planet.

The movie is well shot and directed and just long enough to make you want more. All threads are very well resolved. The girl who seems to be uncredited in the movie has a key scene. Sadly on Amazon prime it was cut and while I understood what had happened it seemed very jarring and odd when I first saw it because it cuts abruptly. Then I read it was an explicit scene with female and male parts being seen and being some borderline thing with what is allowed.

Anyways, it didn't detract too much but should've been included imo. We are all adults and can handle it easily.
The resolution at the end was a little tragic with needless deaths but also a save and another satisfying death of someone who is pushed down by the mob who's had enough of the pompous attitude and feigned superiority being pulled over them. It was kinda sad to see all the loss of knowledge at the end and a lone man caring so much for books and knowledge and at cost of human lives too but it itself came at a great cost.
Connery's character was baited in the end by being picked as a decision maker on purpose so Bernardo could get rid of him too brilliantly. This is because Bernardo knew Connery's William the friar couldn't resist. It does make you feel that Bernardo is knowledgeable but exploitative and cunning and wicked.

A shout out to Ron Perlman who was terrific as well. His character seemed more intelligent than Bernardo and it was sad to see how he was treated which likely happened back then a lot. He's probably a victim of this circumstance in medieval times else would have been pretty smart and intelligent with his multiple language skills to boot.

The girl's longing gaze at the end and Slater going off while resolving to an extent what happened to Connery too was nice. She was a rose who sadly was likely ravaged by many but loved only by Slater as they both commit the deed in an act of lust. There's many here who truly embody the "rose by any other name" indicating that true human nature will reveal itself. "A rose will be rose no matter what you call it" is the takeaway.

Overall, Connery, Slater and others were fantastic and Connery should've won an Oscar imo.

Rating: 9.25/10.