What to say of the Green Knight? It feels both medieval and modern, real and hallucinatory, rendering it entirely
unheimlich or uncanny. Dazzling to behold, it renders the chivalric tale in cinematic splendor while twisting it subtly, and usually to great effect. It takes full advantage of its medium to present the cramped castle before sending its hero out into a vast and mythic wilderness. Dev Patel is stunning as the often unwilling and put-upon Gawain, but retains a vulnerability and a hidden core of iron that is only revealed in small flashes. The film manages to evoke both the post-Roman Britain of the supposed “Age of Arthur” as well as the late medieval time when the chivalric Arthurian romances were popularized and recorded.
An entirely haunting film, which I am sure to revisit again and again. I have only one minor quibble, which I shall hide below as it could be a spoiler to those not familiar with the poem.
5/5 Beheadings
SPOILERS BEWARE...
I do wish that it was more clear that the Lord and the Green Knight were one and the same, as in the poem. Still, a minor quibble for a fantastic film.
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