A young man with dreams of being a knight is forced to confront his
​destiny when he has a violent confrontation with a monstrous beast.

DRAMA/FANTASY

The Green Knight (2021)

Written and Directed by David Lowery

Starring Dev Patel, Ralph Ineson, Sean Harris, Alicia Vikander, Sarita Choudhury, Joel Edgerton, Kate Dickie, Barry Keoghan

​Based on the Arthurian legend

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Connor Eyzaguirre

July 30, 2021

7/10

In 1998, NBC did a miniseries called Merlin. It starred Sam Neill as the eponymous wizard and it told the story of King Arthur through his eyes. It featured all of the familiar characters like Arthur, Lancelot, Guinevere, Nimue, Queen Mab, Vortigern, and of course Gawain. I only bring this up because I believe this miniseries to be the most entertaining and thorough adaptation of the Arthurian legend ever put to celluloid. I'd hoped The Green Knight would be the next. But unless you enjoy dull walks through the woods, random subplots that add nothing to the narrative, and an abrupt ending that doesn't feel earned, I'd give this one a pass.

The performances are absolutely mesmerizing, particularly Dev Patel as Sir Gawain and Ralph Ineson as the Green Knight. The film is a highly dramatized revamp of the classic legend aptly titled "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." In the film, the young Gawain (not yet a knight, but King Arthur's nephew) takes up Excalibur and beheads a tree-looking warrior called the Green Knight. But the Knight warned him that should Gawain strike a blow upon him, the Knight will return the same blow to Gawain one year hence. So, a year later, Gawain goes on a quest to find the Knight and get his head cut off. Along the way, he meets a headless ghost, a talking fox, a herd of howling giants, Joel Edgerton, and bandits who take his shit and never come up again.

So much of the legend is ignored to purposefully make a confusing narrative. The true identity of the Green Knight, the lesson he was trying to impart, and the involvement of sorceress Morgan le Fay, all gone. The original story is a lesson in honesty, and despite the superb performances, stunning visuals, impressive cinematography, and solemn score, I feel the film's lessons are lost in a pretentious retelling that few will enjoy.