Movie Review – The Green Knight – Intense Movie
Table of Contents
My Rating – 4.5 out of 5
Plot Summary – The Green Knight
This is probably director Davide Lowery’s best work till date, for Dev Patel, it certainly is. Be warned, that though this is a historical fiction which encompasses mythology, history, Knights, Kings, Monsters etc., it’s not a film full of CGI, battles, action sequences, violence et al. It’s poetry on celluloid, the cinematography so beautiful that it hurts the eyes! There is a dreamlike quality to every frame, some more than the others. The lighting, sound and music lend to an surreal atmosphere, it transports you immediately to an era you’ve read about, heard tales of – but here you almost experience it, smell the fires, feel the rain, ash and snow….
Gawain, the nephew of the legendary King Arthur and in the opening scenes, an essentially no-hoper hanger on to royalty kind of a fellow. Drinking, cavorting with a lover, being mothered by a protective mother and repeat. So on Christmas Day, when King Arthur asks him to sit next to him, during the feast, and asks him to tell a story, Gawain is at a loss… He has no stories worth telling. No tales of bravado or courage come to mind of this ordinary would-be Knight. Then, the door bursts open, and in walks the mythical Green Knight – part man, part gnarled tree and asks the King for a ‘Christmass Game’.
Any of the King’s subject can strike him and he will part with his Axe, and in return, the aggressor will have to come to the Green Chapel – the Knights’ lair up North and the Green Knight will return the strike equally. While all other Knights at King Arthur’s table hesitate, Gawain steps forward to take up the challenge. He wants this to be his story, in his hitherto inconsequential life, this is his shot at redemption – the opportunity to be called brave and courageous and deserve to sit next to the King – not because of his family ties, but because of his valor and bravado.
He beheads the Green Knight, who picks up his severed head and laughs like a madman as he gallops away! And thus begins the year of challenges for Sir Gawain, the profligate wannabe now has to live up to his aspirations and prove his worth. He begins his journey north, with the dream that he will conquer the Green Knight and return triumphant. On his way, there are spirits, bandits and tramps who deter him, rob him. Even a grand Lord who deceives him with help and advice, but Gawain stumbles on till he reaches the Green Chapel.
Like I said earlier, there are no battles, no fighting with elves or werewolves or even foriegn armies, this is man’s fight with himself. A fight to become a better version of himself, to discover that ‘courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.’ Just like life throws a series of challenges at us, Gawain encounters many on his journey and he has to go through them at all. A talking Fox appeals to him to turn back, no one being the wiser at his failure to meet his promise, but Gawain forges on to meet his fears head on. The boy on his journey to become a man!
Conclusion – Movie Review of The Green Knight
This is a beautiful, aesthetically pleasing movie. Strong performances, exquisite cinematography, great screenplay and haunting background score make for a wonderful watch. Dev Patel does so much wiyth the intensity of his eyes, where the silences speak more than the dialogues, where the temerity of his countenance morphs credibly into the steel of resolute character. This is easily one of the most beautiful films released this year, and one can hope for awards down the line for the series of accomplishments that this film has demonstrated.
It is a treat to watch this on the big screen, the atmosphere is electric, the narrative so absorbing that you do not mind the slightly slower pace of the movie. A must watch, people!
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