HOUR OF THE PIG (Directed by Leslie Megahey. Starring Colin Firth, Ian Holm, Donald Pleasance, Amina Annibi, Nicol Williamson)

There is something distinctly unpromising in the title, which appears to strain towards the sense of portent of The Day Of The Jackal but collapses into farce due to its unfortunate choice of animal. Which is not an inaccurate description of the whole affair. Drawing on the bizarre premise that, in Medieval France, animals were subject to the same legal constraints as people (with, famously, a swarm of locusts tried for malicious damage of property in absentia), The Hour Of The Pig is part medieval mystery, part bawdy romp, like The Name Of The Rose reinterpreted by the Carry On crew.

It opens at the double hanging of a man and his donkey, who have been found guilty of unlawful carnal congress, although animal lovers everywhere will be relieved to learn that the donkey, being otherwise of good character, is granted a last minute reprieve. This sharp, macabre joke, sets the tone for the whole film, which ducks and dives down every medieval alleyway in search of an off-beat laugh while somehow failing to build on its early promise.

Colin Firth plays a Parisian lawyer, a renaissance man who has taken on the role of public defender in a superstitious country town. He learns a lesson in rough justice when a client, accused of being a witch, is hung after he has struck a deal to get her off, and begins to despair of his country practice when his next client turns out to be a pig accused of murder.

The dark undercurrent introduced with the death of the witch disappointingly fades, however, as the film follows easier and more obvious paths, taking every opportunity to revel in a bit of Chaucerian ribaldry and modern nudity.

Yet while ultimately foregoing profundity for cheap laughs, scriptwriter Leslie Megahey should not be accused of making a pig’s ear of his directorial debut. The film is filled with witty observations of medieval life, fired by delightfully hammy performances from a fine cast of British and French actors and at least succeeds in touching on interesting issues of the philosophy of justice. It might be considered scrappy, but it wallows in its world as happily as a pig in shit.