The Green Knight is a 2021 American epicmedieval fantasy film written, edited, produced, and directed by David Lowery. The film stars Dev Patel as Gawain, a newly-appointed knight from King Arthur‘s Round Table, who sets out on a journey to test his courage and face the Green Knight. Based on the 14th-century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
So, after waiting for over a year, I finally got to see what was – for me – one of the most anticipated movies of the year (after Dune). In short, I thought it was great.
The biggest thing that the movie suffers from is whisper dialogue. Like many more art-focused films, the characters spend far too much time refusing to speak up. There is also the issue of title cards. They were distracting. There is also the issue of the overall disjointed narrative. That, however, I can forgive because of the source material. Medieval literature – especially Anglo-Saxon literature – is simply written with kind of structure. Random things just… happen. For instance, the Giants that appear for all of one scene. They do nothing and mean nothing to the plot, but they show up anyway.
As for the positives, I have to give major props for the rich style. I’ve seen people call it style over substance, but I disagree. All the same, it is RICH with style. Yet again, we have a movie I must praise for Costume. Design. Call out to Margosia Turzanska. Also, the set pieces are gorgeous, and the film makes incredible use of color. The atmosphere is rich, the movie has strong themes, but it’s the visual storytelling of the finale that made me fall in love. I won’t spoil it, but there are at least three levels of symbolism to Gawain’s coronation.
Bottom Line:
All in all, a great film. It’s slow, and it’s narrative is out of place in this day and age, but I thought it was well executed. Solid, but I LOVE the end.
Rating:
The Green Knight is certainly a display of cinematic quality that breaks the mold of the traditional film.
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