The Green Knight is too profound – and R-Rated – for young audiences but it’s exactly the kind of formative fantasy adventure you would see as a youth and carry with you for the rest of your life. Visually striking, layered, masterfully conceived by writer/director David Lowery, it knocks you off your feet.
On Christmas Day, the mysterious Green Knight (Ralph Ineson) barges into King Arthur’s hall with a game: he will give his enchanted ax to anyone who can land a blow on him but in a year, they must travel to the Green Chapel and receive an equal strike in return. When Gawain (Dev Patel) decapitates the Green Knight, he believes he’s found a loophole - until the eerie stranger picks himself up and tells him they will see each other again.
Based on the 14th-century Arthurian story, this is a faithful adaptation and a revisionist interpretation. It fills the gaps in the original narrative and tweaks the ending to be ambiguous if you’re familiar with the story or deeply mature and self-reflective if you haven’t. The Round Table and its knights evoke images of pure hearts. Gaiwan (he’s no “Sir” yet) is no hero. He's introduced waking up in a brothel next to his lover, Essel (Alicia Vikander). He might love her, but enough to bring her into his world? It's unlikely. When Arthur asks Gaiwan to humor him with a tale of his heroism. He has none to offer. After decapitating the Green Knight, he revels for a year – hardly taking any time to prepare for his quest. He may dress like a knight but we know he isn’t one. He does too.
This is a gorgeous film with striking colors and environments that would inspire the same sort of myths we're seeing. From the sumptuous costumes to the titular Green Knight, there’s so much to look at you kind of want to play the movie at one-tenth the speed so you can drink in every detail - but that would interrupt the story.
The flawed protagonist makes The Green Knight completely unpredictable. You can see who Gaiwan could be if he remembers and learns from the strange encounters along the way to the Green Chapel. In a world where magic is real, it seems possible for him to become a good man. You're unsure. The adult themes with the gore, sex, and disturbing imagery mean unpleasant truths fit right at home in this story.
There’s so much to unpack in The Green Knight. Its themes of legacy and righteousness, the post-credit scene I’m still not sure I understand but only because I’ve only seen the film once, the choice of characters incorporated in the story, the changes that make this feel like it’s the story that inspired the story, the ending, art direction, cast, sets, costumes make it a great film. What takes it to the level are the performances. They aren’t flashy but add so much. Dev Patel is particularly excellent.
It’s not just that I can’t wait to see The Green Knight again; it’s that I need to see it again with others so we can discuss it at length. (January 18, 2021)
