A One Mann’s Movies review of “The Green Knight” (2021).
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
I really wanted to see “The Green Knight” on the big screen, but the movie’s very restricted distribution (ridiculously so) meant that I couldn’t get to it. So it was a small screen watch on Amazon Prime for me. But even here, the film had the capacity to impress me with stunning visuals and a moving and memorable story.
Plot Summary:
It’s the dark ages and Gawain (Dev Patel) is a wannabe knight, nephew to King Arthur (Sean Harris), who spends his days carousing with his village squeeze Essel (Alicia Vikander). His mother (Sarita Choudhury, presumably Morgana) wishes better for him and engages in black magic to effect change.
As such, one Christmas, the Green Knight appears at the royal court with a jolly game: he challenges a knight to best him in a contest and inflict a wound. But the gotcha is that for the following Christmas, the knight must travel north to the Green Chapel where the Knight will inflict the same wound on him. Gawain accepts the challenge.
The sensible choice would be to make a slight nick on the Green Knight’s finger. But the headstrong Gawain is not so sensible….
Certification:
Talent:
Starring: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Sean Harris, Sarita Choudhury, Joel Edgerton.
Directed by: David Lowery.
Written by: David Lowery.
“The Green Knight” Review:
Positives:
- There are certain films that will stick in the memory long after you’ve watched them. This is one of them. Full of truly memorable visuals and surreal events, David Lowery has created a fantastical piece of storytelling loosely based on the epic-poem of “Gawain and the Green Knight”. It’s dramatic. intellectually challenging (to appreciate what’s going on) and darkly comic in places. It enthralled me.
- Dev Patel delivers a first rate performance. But when does he not? Still only 31, he really is one of our most versatile and talented young actors. His Gawain makes for an interesting anti-hero, in turns brave, cowardly and full of self-doubt and loathing.
- Alicia Vikander is also spectacular here, playing the dual roles of Essel and “The Lady”. She’s just so versatile: delivering a dowdily pretty girl-next-door as Essel and then being gorgeously sexy and seductive as the mystical Lady of the North. Another stunning performance.
- The cinematography by Andrew Droz Palermo is spectacular, with interesting framing choices and dramatic vistas of open forest and wilderness (which I took to be Scotland but which is actually Ireland). This is supported by great Special Effects by Weta Digital.
- The music by Daniel Hart is hauntingly fitting to the medieval storyline, full of plaintive choral voices.
Negatives:
- The movie is dark in so many ways. But visually, it could be subtitled “50 Shades of Black”, given some of the scenes. It was certainly a challenge for the contrast on my LCD Smart TV. As such this is still a movie I would like to see again on the big screen, with a high quality projector bulb employed! (Some cinema screens are way worse than others: Cineworld Whiteley Screen 8, are you listening???!).
- I loved its slow-burn build of mood and atmosphere, but many I’m sure will think it just plain slow and boring.
- I’ll add the UK film distributors (Entertainment Film Distributors) to this list of negatives for doing such a poor job of getting the film into mainstream UK cinemas.
Summary Thoughts on “The Green Knight”
I’m 100% positive that this is a “Marmite” movie, with some loving it, some hating it and with not many people sitting on the fence. A glance at the “most helpful” IMDB ratings suggests that most people hated it, many thinking it slow, boring and pretentious!
But I thought it was fabulous. Thought-provoking and a memorable movie experience. Well recommended, if you’re willing to be challenged by a film.
Trailer for “The Green Knight”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS6ksY8xWCY.
