The Green Knight - Review

When I was giving a mini-review to John Boorman’s Excalibur, I used the descriptors “dreamlike” and “bloody and earthy”. The same adjectives can be used to describe director David Lowery’s psychedelic new Arthurian quest The Green Knight, but to a much different effect. While Excalibur came off as more operatic and grandiose, The Green Knight is more like a typical A24 film: a slow-burn, methodical, downbeat think piece that prospective audiences will be talking about long after they see it. And good thing too because, surprising absolutely no one given the filmmaker and studio’s pedigree, The Green Knight is one of the best films of 2021.

Our story concerns Dev Patel as Sir Gawain, King Arthur’s nephew who, when a strange tree monster intruder known as the Green Knight (Ralph Ineson) interrupts the Knights of the Round Table’s Christmas celebration, eagerly (and somewhat foolishly) accepts the Green Knight’s challenge of a fight. However, the caveat is that whatever blow Gawain lands against the Green Knight must be repaid in kind a year after the fact at the Green Knight’s abode, the Green Chapel. After said year passes, Gawain sets on a harrowing, haunting quest through the forests of England to find the Green Chapel and face up to his fate.

What I should say at the outset of this review is that if you weren’t a fan of A24’s films before this film (or if you saw David Lowery’s A Ghost Story and were bored by it), this probably isn’t gonna do much to win you over. When I say “methodical” and “slow-burn”, I really mean it; like The Lighthouse or Midsommar, the filmmakers are really intent on luring the audience into this gritty, dark environment, so that means long, drawn-out scenes and unbroken shots of weird, surreal imagery that not everyone is going to find beautiful. Fortunately, I am a sucker for this kind of free-flowing, almost Malick-esque style of filmmaking, but I thought I should just warn you in case you’re not.

But if you are, then you are really gonna enjoy yourself here. Andrew Droz Palermo’s cinematography not only makes great use of natural earthy colors like brown and blue, but when it’s time for things to look like you’re on a massive drug trip, he makes great usage of hard greens and reds to give off a nightmarish vibe. Aiding in this aesthetic is the score composed by longtime Lowery standby Daniel Hart, who mostly bases his music around the usage of medieval choirs singing Gregorian chant-like melodies and medieval tunes.

But on top of that are the performances. Dev Patel shines as Gawain, infusing him with enough pathos so that we feel sorry for him but also enough cowardice so that we can understand why he’s in the situation that he’s in. And Ralph Ineson — who just seems determined to do as many A24 films as he possibly can — is properly creepy with his phantomlike demeanor and naturally deep voice as he is aided by a completely prosthetic suit that looks like a creepy cross between Treebeard and Groot. All the other performance from the likes of Joel Edgerton, Alicia Vikander, Kate Dickie, and Sean Harris are good and get the job done, but this is mostly Gawain’s story, so that’s where the lion’s share of the focus is centered.

And Gawain’s story comes to what can only be described as the typical A24 ending, which I won’t spoil, but I can imply will definitely spark conversation among mythology nerds and avid moviegoers. After watching other interpretations, it might be a bit cleaner cut (for those of you who already saw it, no pun intended) than I first thought, but I think it could go either way. And it all serves to demonstrate what I think is the film’s main moral: the honorable end isn’t always the happiest end; a lesson which nobody who’s ever watched Game of Thrones should be shocked by.

Bottom line, The Green Knight is a superb film. Definitely check it out, if you feel safe doing so!