The Green Knight (2021) - Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Sarita Choudhury, Joel Edgerton

[DragonClaws]

 

 

[DarthKato]

I think I'll pass. Doesn't really look that interesting. The Green Knight has a cool design though. 

[Iron_Leopard]

Grew up on the one from the 80s. It's hard to tell from this trailer if this one has potential or not.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

The Green Knight (2021: David Lowery):  

Watched this in the theater. I have such mixed feelings on this one. I love the cinematography, the look and feel and the fact that you can create a good-looking movie for little. I was not happy with the lead Gawain in Dev Patel. If I was taking screenshots, I could find plenty to snap and use for examples of composition, stage work, mood, setting. Eric Saindon (VE supervisor) worked to make much "look like old glass paintings" And the Irish environment looks quite beautiful and perfect the milieu. 

The hallucinatory aspects and especially the use of fog made me think of Valhalla Rising. And like that film I have mixed thoughts on it. It makes it ethereal, but also not as grounded. I enjoy the visuals, but I do not feel as much is at stake -- like an extended dream. 

While Dev Patel as Gawain was made to be a feckless slacker, his acting reminded me of a character in a Robert Bresson film. Sean Harris and Joel Edgerton dominate him in individual scenes. Is this a plus or minus for the film? I'm not sure because it makes the ending more effective (like that burst of emotion in Pickpocket at the end). But he is annoying and sometimes extremely stupid. For example, early on he meets with a boy after the scene of a battle (everybody died). It is a good conversation. I liked it. However, the boy sends him into an obvious ambush. But what was even more annoying was how easy Gawain gave in. It should be obvious that you don't do that (travelers tend to be killed if they seem easy targets or at least knocked out). But he gave in to weak, very weak kids. Are you kidding me? 

But as you watch this: check out the repetition of ideas (often in twos and often having a slightly different meaning). Obviously, this is a Campbell "Heroes Journey" but with a sometimes soporific effect. 

On part of his journey, it had me thinking of Ugetsu (also related A Chinese Ghost Story). You know it is an enchanted area; he really should know; I hope he knows but too often he just does not ask pertinent questions. He's annoying that way.  

When you are watching this, you might think of this as a deconstructed Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (I have read it). This makes some aspects of the film quite annoying, but since the story does not fill in the adventures from his beginning quest to an important castle anything is game. Sean Harris's voice (nice having seen him in two Mission Impossible films lately) works so well here. Occasionally the film throws something in (like Valhalla Rising) that you wish they would have just left out. 

This is an A24 production. The films that I have seen from them are usually decent-to-good, but I nowhere near as like them as many on here. But they do serve a niche and seem to do it well. With the beautiful direction (Last Year at Marienbad an influence?) this was quite nice to see in the theater. However, the lead occasionally wanted me to tear off a reclining seat and throw it at the screen. 

And later I find out there is an after credits sequence which I missed.  I was not thinking that this film would have one.  It does not seem to be much, but still, I hate missing those scenes.