The Green Knight – movie review

Watching The Green Knight some 16 months after it was supposed to premiere at SXSW I can attest that it was well worth the wait.

Director David Lowery, who’s A Ghost Story was one of my favorite films of 2017 adapts the Arthurian tale with modern, indie sensibilities. Dev Patel stars as Sir Gawain while Joel Edgerton stars as a character simply known as the Lord with Alicia Vikander in a dual role, Sean Harris (Mission: Impossible films) as Arthur and Ralph Ineson (The VVitch) as the titular Green Knight.

For those that don’t remember the poem or like me who slept through English class in high school the story of the Green Knight centers on King Arthur’s nephew the young and reckless Gawain. During a Christmas celebration the eponymous Green Knight appears and challenges Arthur’s knight to a test – he will take a blow and if defeated will surrender his axe but, in a year’s, time will deliver a counter blow of his own. Gawain is the only one in Arthur’s court who accepts the challenge and thus begins a quest filled with ghosts, giants and a talking fox.

The Green Knight is a delight to behold. Beautiful and dreamy with stunning production design, costumes, sets and cinematography. The film is expertly directed by Lowrey making a film that is both of this time and timeless. Patel and the rest of the cast are exquisite but this is Patel’s show and he shines. Vikander also amazes in dual roles and in particular the character of The Lay. The film is a fantasy epic of the first order and while not as action packed as LOTR or GoT and definitely more enigmatic and though-provoking than those franchises the film will no doubt please die-hard admirers of the genre.