Direction: David Lowery
Country: UK / Ireland / other
Written, directed, edited and co-produced by the gifted David Lowery (A Ghost Story, 2017; The Old Man & The Gun, 2018), The Green Knight is a somber tale whose plot derived from the late 14th-century Arthurian story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by unknown author. Dark and meditative, this delineation aptly fuses perplexing storytelling with exquisite stylization as well as occult practices with medieval chivalry.
On Christmas day, the young and fearless Sir Gawain (Dev Patel) accepts the beheading challenge of a sinister and massive creature, the Green Knight (Ralph Ineson), in order to impress his uncle, the noble King Arthur (Sean Harris). One year after, he sets off alone on a perilous journey to meet with his fierce opponent, who is expected to reciprocate the blow. Along the way, Gawain is tricked, robbed and then guided by enormous figures. He also helps the spirit of Saint Winifred (Erin Kellyman), befriends a talking fox, and ends up in a castle inhabited by a Lord (Joel Edgerton ), whose wife (Alicia Vikander) tempts him and subjects him to witchcraft. His courage and word will be tested and a moment of weakness can be fatal.
The efficient score by Lowery’s frequent collaborator Daniel Hart straddles between the ancient and the modern, while the cinematography by Andrew Droz Palermo is stunning. In truth, The Green Knight is fantastically filmed, exerting a strange power of fascination. It can be demanding and baffling at times but never loses the gripping tone that sustains the story… a very dark tone I should say.
Lowery is more interested in mystical quests than in fierce battles here, and his deeply personal on-screen depiction of the tale takes us so deeply into this feverish, supernatural world that we can almost feel its texture.
