The Green Knight

I have a hunch that a lot of audiences are not going to be kind to The Green Knight, or possibly even understand what the film is trying to say in certain parts.  That's okay, as not every movie has to be a crowd-pleaser.  I can only tell you how the film played on me, which is the job of any critic, and I personally found it endlessly intriguing, and easily one of the more visually stunning films I have seen in a while.   

In adapting the famed 14th Century legend set in the days of King Arthur, writer-director David Lowery (The Old Man and the Gun) has decided to abandon most fantasy-adventure thrills and spectacle, and instead give us a quiet, introspective and challenging film that demands the audience's attention, and perhaps multiple viewings in order to fully grasp the story.  Not everything is explained here, not even the film's final moments, which I think is intentional on Lowery's part.  He's inviting the audience to come up with their own conclusions here, even those who are familiar with the original story, which has been filmed before.  So, it becomes up to the audience of whether or not they accept the challenge that the film presents.  Do they become lost in the dream-like atmosphere of the film?  Do they reject the film because it is not easily interpreted?  Do they try to look for a deeper meaning behind its intentionally loose narrative?  I sense no two people are going to come at or away from this film differently.

As in the classic tale, the film tells the story of Gawain (Dev Patel), a nephew of King Arthur (Sean Harris), and the son of a powerful witch (Sarita Choudhury), whose days seem to consist of drinking at the local pub, and making love to a common woman named Essel (Alicia Vikander) most nights.  On Christmas Day, Gawain is with the King's Knights when the Green Knight (Ralph Inerson), a giant of supernatural origins, enters the room and presents the men with a "game".  He challenges them that anyone who can strike a blow on him with their weapon can have use of his ax for one year.  However, within one year to the day, that someone must travel to the Green Chapel, return the ax to the Knight, and then receive an identical blow from him.

Gawain, perhaps being fueled by thoughts of fame and notoriety, volunteers, and with the King's famed sword, he beheads the Green Knight with a mighty strike.  Moments later, the Knight arises, carrying his own severed head, and reminds Gawain that they will meet in exactly one year's time so that the Knight can return the strike that he gave him.  As the next Christmas approaches, Gawain has indeed found the fame that he might have sought, but he knows that he must hold up his end to the agreement, and embark on a journey that he likely will not return from.   The quest to the Knight's Green Chapel is episodic, divided into chapters, and are based around various encounters Gawain has with some lowly thieves, a spirit who haunts an abandoned home, and a Lord (Joel Edgerton) and Lady (Vikander in a dual role) who give him shelter near the end of his journey.

These encounters are tied together in a loose narrative that will likely be debated and deciphered by anyone who watches it  The most common question is likely to be were some of these experiences and encounters imagined, as the movie does like to play with our sense of reality with delusions and hallucinations that Gawain experiences during his travels.  You can debate the story all you want and are more than welcome to come up with your own interpretations.  What cannot be ignored is the film's visual style, using grayish winter hues to incredibly beautiful effect, and strikingly composed scenes that really deserve to be seen in a quiet theater, so that the mood of the environment can wash over you while you watch it.  This might be a challenging film to put together mentally when it's through, but there is no denying that it is easily more stunning and visually stimulating than most of the Hollywood films I have seen that probably cost over ten times this film's budget.

The Green Knight is also carried along by a career-topping performance by Dev Patel, who makes Gawain into a man who is torn between his hopes of nobility and honor, and his own personal desires.  He creates kind of a new take on the flawed hero here, as he truly wants to live up to the code of Arthur's Knights, but finds himself frequently weakened by various temptations and trials during his journey.  As if to intensify his frequently broken and failing spirit, the music score by Daniel Hart is a brooding choral piece that is constantly heavy, and almost bears down on the viewer in a way that creates the proper hopeless mood.  There are long shots here, moments where the camera lingers on the gray skies above, and long moments without any dialogue, creating one of the more visual experiences you can find at the cinema.

Most of all, I admire the direction that Lowery has decided to take this famous story, giving it a different spin than I ever imagined, and the studio's decision to release it square in the middle of the prime Summer Movie Season.  I doubt this one will be playing long, but I am likely to remember it for a long time to come.

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