The Green Knight Review
9/10
Fantasy has become mundane. In an era of Marvel, we are so used to special effects, that they are no longer special. it's all become white noise. That sense of wonder and awe for me is rare. Feeling like you are in a different world is unlike anything else in film. There have been a few times when I have walked out of a theater in a daze, like returning from a different planet. It doesn't happen often, but when it does it can euphoric. I had that feeling after seeing David Lowery's previous film A Ghost Story. I also had it with The Lighthouse and Peter Jackson's incredible WW1 documentary They Shall Not Grow Old. In the case of The Lighthouse the daze was a mental sucker punch. What the hell did I just watch? With Jackson's film it was an emotional drain, a sense of awe and sadness, connecting with history in a way I never had had never connected before.
Lowery's new film doesn't quite inspire that same stupor, but it comes close. This is going to sound super pretentious, but describing the film seems almost inconsequential. The Green Knight is a real experience unlike anything else this year. It's not a perfect film, but it creates an otherworldly aura and makes fantasy fantastical again. The Lord Of The Rings trilogy was the pinnacle of fantasy films for quite a long time. Others like the Harry Potter films have tried to capture that same magic, but for me most fell short. When you watch The Green Knight, it takes you on a journey of discovery. The landscape is our own, but it feels like another planet. It draws you into this world but keeps you at a distance from it. Sometimes that can make the film’s internal logic difficult to follow. We follow the journey of Sir Gawain, played brilliantly by Dev Patel. He is King Arthur’s nephew, but Gawain is far from being a noble knight. The film opens with him at a brothel alongside his lover Essel on Christmas day, much to the disapproval of his mother. He rushes to Camelot where his uncle and the other Knights of the round table await.
King Arthur invites Gawain to sit alongside him. Here, he is asked to tell a tale of courage. He has none to tell, -- yet. This is where the Green Knight himself enters the story. In a more traditional Hollywood narrative, we would be given more setup and exposition about the mystical green creature. Who he is, where he came from, why he is here, etc.? In Lowery’s film, the only setup we have is a ritual performed by Gawain’s mother where she summons the Green Knight. Why? Well, that is not explained initially. Some would call this a storytelling flaw, but for me it is quite the opposite. Mythology is supposed to be mysterious and strange. Logic falls by the wayside in favor of grand world building and morality tales. I can understand why some would not like this approach, it requires the audience to put aside their rational expectations and go along with a dreamlike journey. When the Green Knight appears, he presents a game. One of the knights must strike him once and he will return the blow a year later. Why just one strike and why will it be returned a year later? Just go with it. Nobody comes forward, so Gawain is the first. He wants to be a great knight and see’s this as his chance to prove himself to the King.
The Green Knight bows his head, exposing it to Gawain. He hesitates at first, then cuts off the Knight’s head. This is the point in the film where the tests of chivalry come into play. The whole story is a test of Gawain’s honor. Does he have what it takes to be a knight? The beheading is his first dishonorable act. A curse that follows him throughout the tale. The knight grabs his fallen head, tells Gawain, Hey, I’ll see ya in a year, peace out. Then he buggers off holding his severed head. A year later, Gawain goes on a quest to find the Green Knight to finish the deal. Along the way he encounters trials and tribulations that test his valiance. Even though he follows through on completing the tests, there is always a hesitation. He never completely commits without compromise. He comes so close to true heroism, but trips along the way thanks to his selfishness. When he encounters a young man on a corpse strewn battlefield who has lost his brother, Gawain shows contempt for him. The young man requests spare change, but generosity is clearly not on the menu. Gawain flings a solitary coin at him, a pathetic gesture that is acknowledged as such. Later, the spirit of a murdered woman asks him to retrieve her head from the bottom of a lake. Rather than helping her without question, he immediately asks what is in it for him. Every step of the way, he is shown to be self-serving. He can’t just be a good person and be thoughtful.
The film never outright states that these are tests, but that is the very essence of mythology and folklore. We are so used to fantasy being treated as a backdrop for spectacle. Window dressing for action and adventure. John Boorman’s 1981 adaptation of Excalibur is one of the few Hollywood attempts to portray how bizarre and ethereal Arthurian folklore can be. That film unfortunately loses track of the characters and emotions in favor of pure mysticism. That was a detriment to the quality of the film. Green Knight has the magic of great folklore and a strong focus on emotions rather than just a morality tale. Gawain is a very human character. He goes through a transcendental voyage and becomes a better person. The film asks, Is it better to be a great man or a good man? Greatness and legend can be at the expense of honor and humanity. Gawain wants to be a real knight and is willing to sacrifice everything to achieve that. When you ascend to the level of a deity, you can lose sight of your soul along the way.
We are shown a man who does not realize that until this journey. The Green Knight is a wonderful exploration of these ideas. It sometimes sacrifices traditional storytelling in favor of beautiful imagery, but these are always with purpose. The visuals drive home the themes and symbolism better than any exposition. Imagine how lazy it would be if Gawain stopped the flow of the narrative, turned to the audience and said “Oh bums, I really messed up this trial. Onto the next! Good golly gosh I am not a very good knight.” Despite all the praise, I will say this film is not for everyone. The pacing can be glacial for some. I love a great slow burn tale that takes its time to immerse me in the world. I notice that a lot of critics love this film, but audiences are more divided. The critical score on Rotten Tomatoes is 88%, while the audience score is 50%. This has been an issue for a while. There is a popular opinion today that a professional critic is becoming irrelevant in an age where everybody can express their voice online. I understand where that comes from, but there is space for many different perspectives.
I saw The Green Knight with a good friend and while she liked it overall, some parts of it didn’t click with her in the same way as it did for me. I was so immersed in the experience that I didn’t think about certain questions of logic the film doesn’t really answer. Sometimes I get so engrossed in what’s happening on screen that I don’t really care about logistics. My way of viewing the film was different from hers, but both opinions are equally valid. That is the beauty of film appreciation. Everything we watch is filtered through our personal history and who we are. Sometimes, a film can resonate with you in a way that is difficult to articulate. It triggers an emotional response that can only be expressed in a limited way. Trying to communicate that in writing risks sounding pretentious. It brings to mind this quote by Francis Ford Coppola from the brilliant documentary Hearts of Darkness.
“Nothing is so terrible as a pretentious movie. I mean a movie that aspires for something really terrific and doesn’t pull it off is shit, it’s scum…and everyone will walk on it as such. And that’s why poor filmmakers in a way – that’s their greatest horror – is to be pretentious. So here you are on one hand that’s trying to aspire to really do something, and on the other hand you’re not allowed to be pretentious. And finally, you say, ‘fuck it.’ I don’t care if I’m pretentious or not pretentious or if I’ve done it or I haven’t done it. All I know is that I am going to see this movie. And that for me it must have some answers. And by answers I don’t mean just a punch line, answers on about 47 different levels.”
Did I mention the film has a cute fox?
