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The Green Knight
(A24)
By Lucas Allen
From writer and director David Lowery, “The Green Knight” offers viewers a new and different visual interpretation to the legendary Arthurian tale of Sir Gawain and the Quest for the Green Knight. The story itself had been previously told on screen in 1984’s “Sword of the Valiant,” with Sean Connery as the Green Knight. After one too many King Arthur films, including the more recent Guy Ritchie flop from 2017, it’s nice to see some other tale brought to life by a different visionary filmmaker.
In medieval England, Sir Gawain (Dev Patel) is the young nephew to King Arthur (Sean Harris) and Queen Guinevere (Kate Dickie). While he’s being raised by his mother Morgan Le Fay (Sarita Choudhury), he lives his life in the wild with his peasant girlfriend (Alicia Vikander). During a Christmas banquet, the kingdom of Camelot gets an unexpected visitor when the tall and monstrous Green Knight (Ralph Ineson) challenges anybody to play his little game. A hot-headed Gawain takes his uncle’s Excalibur and decapitates the monster. However, the knight’s head brings a word of warning that Gawain has to find him in his green chapel in exactly one year to finish the game.
Nearly a year later, with his legend now hanging over him, Sir Gawain sets off on a journey to complete the Green Knight’s game. Along the way, he contends with a young thief (Barry Keoghan), a ghostly woman (Erin Kellyman), and a mystical fox that becomes his traveling companion. Eventually, he finds solace in the home of a pudgy lord (Joel Edgerton) and the beautiful Essel (also Vikander), despite their questionable hospitality. When the time finally arrives, Gawain will face the Green Knight once more and realize what this game really means.
The first thing you’ll notice about the film is how grim and moody the atmospheric visuals look especially during the darker scenes. The lighting and cinematography give the story a very unsettling feeling throughout that’ll make you feel uneasy. It’s also deliberately slow paced with moments of silence scattered throughout that adds to the overall dark tone. This is one of those films that’s not an easy one to watch nor for everybody’s tastes, but you can tell how the director handles many elements to retell an old tale few ever remembered.
Though the look and feel of the film may not be everybody’s cup of tea, it does however present numerous themes and ideas that make it better than one could realize. The story is not just an epic journey that would later inspire the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, but it’s also a cautionary love story and a dark Christmas fable. With the love story, one might see Gawain’s journey as a metaphor for love and marriage. It’s a tale of chivalry amidst the masculinity and feminism of its era that’ll certainly shock some modern viewers. After watching this film, you may never look at romance and commitment the same way again.
Since the story takes place over two consecutive Christmas days and there are references to the fabled holiday throughout, the story of the Green Knight itself also represents what giving and receiving is all about. As grim as Gawain’s journey gets, there seems to be an underlying notion that the spirit of the season will suddenly make things right. In fact, Lowery pulls a similar trick Martin Scorsese used in The Last Temptation of Christ for the film’s climax as a way to give the main character a special kind of gift he never expected. Some will find the ending disappointing, but the final scene does bring full circle to the story being an old Christmas tale.
In his leading man role, Patel brings great range to his performance as a young nobleman caught in his own dark web of mystery and death that he may never get out of. Even though he’s only in a couple of scenes, Edgerton leaves a lasting impression in a very meaty role he’s able to bring some comic light to. As for Vikander, she’s pretty good as Gawain’s girlfriend but then gets to absolutely let loose in the sexier role of Essel complete with a chilling speech about the young man’s humanity.
“The Green Knight” is certainly a challenging film to watch only to reward the most patient of viewers some interesting themes and surprising visual appeal. If this is the kind of challenge worth taking like Sir Gawain did, then think of it as the gift for the summer.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: R (for violence, some sexuality, and graphic nudity)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.5 Stars (Out of Four)
