Starring: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Sean Harris, Sarita Choudhury, Ralph Ineson & Joel Edgerton
.
Beware all ye who enter, and curb all expectations: this film is unlike any you’ve seen before. A distilled blend of mythic fantasy adventure and arthouse cinema, The Green Knight is the newest film adaptation of Arthurian Legend, Sir Gawain, and The Green Knight. One of the oldest chivalric tales passed down for generations through various adaptations and interpretations. The gist of the story serving as a lesson in honor and self-belief. Sir Gawain learns the lessons which teach him how to truly be the knight he wished he was.
In this new interpretation, the plot opens with Gawain waking late for the Christmas celebration at which he seems determined to become a knight. This desire for honor and to be known as an honorable man are clearly set up from the beginning while also eluding to the idea that Gawain is not as ready as he thinks.
The set design, costumes, and acting all feel incredibly realistic for a fantasy setting. A dreamlike version of medieval Britain feels like it really exists while on screen. This is also held up by the performances which hold nothing back and take on the somewhat heightened dialogue with full force. The use of different speaking cadences and words between characters also adds to the fantasy element, from King Arthur waxing philosophically with plenty of “thee”s and “thou”s while Gawain only speaks in that way when around other important characters.
The beginning of the film does an excellent job setting the stage. It gives plenty of screen time for Sean Harris as the aged King Arthur, as well as the imposing appearance of the titular Green Knight and his Christmas Game. From there we skip forward a year to Gawain starting his journey for his “honor”. But here is where some of the smaller issues that plague The Green Knight arise. The other characters speak of the quest like they know what is going to happen which leaves some of the tension more hollow than the presentation would have you believe. The pace of the film does help, as before it can become bogged down by its own weight of content it’s able to move on to the bulk of the story.
Most of the rest of the film covers Gawain’s journey and the challenges he faces throughout. Each vignette concerns another part of being a knight and holding yourself to the chivalric code, something which Gawain seems (mostly) naturally attuned to even from the beginning.
Here too lies a pair of issues that take more time to get used to than they really should. The more fantastical and dreamlike the film becomes, the murkier the message becomes which is truly the two-sided blade of this film. The beauty and imagination are paired with a slight dissonance in terms of what is actually happening in the story. Some of the CGI used is also noticeably out of place. The biggest one for me personally was the fox which accompanies Gawain as a sort of guide for some time. When it would stand still it looked good, but any amount of movement made it clear this creature was walking like some video game quality animation. But in terms of CG, opinions can differ. Some reviews also highlight the scene with the giants, but for me, that scene worked so well I didn’t think twice about the actual look of the creature. Just stood in awe of the moment.
That is how I think A24’s The Green Knight can be most easily enjoyed. Simply in awe. It has all the fantasy gusto of films of the past like Legend or The Princess Bride but compounded with the same aesthetic and abyssal pits of despair in films like The Witch or Netflix’s The King. The cinematography is some of the most experimental and unique out there currently and for me, was worth the price of admission by far.
The Green Knight may not be quite the dark fantasy masterpiece it was quietly pushed to be, but the sum of all its various parts is an incredibly imaginative and entertaining film that I will be watching again.
