The Green Knight

Dev Patel plays Sir Gawain in a fever dream of Arthurian legend.

The Green Knight is not about the Green Knight, which is perfectly in keeping with the film’s agenda. It is the story of Gawain, played by Dev Patel, and his quest to find the eponymous figure in order to test his own valour. Based on the anonymous 14th-century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, it is a pictorially ravishing slice of cinema that wafts over one like a hallucinogenic trip. The accent is more on mysticism than adventure, and gets weirder by the furlong as Gawain travels across moor and dale towards his destiny.

The opening image of Dev bursting into flames certainly sets the tone. More surprising is the following pastoral scene enshrouded in early morning mist. There are some sheep, a horse, a gaggle of geese and a goat and, whether contrived or not, a goose suddenly gives the goat a piece of its mind, sounding a disarmingly spontaneous note. This is the Middle Ages in all its squalor, cold and filth, and every drip, stain and emission transports the viewer to the grottiness of a bygone era. The writer-director-producer-editor David Lowery has never been the most accessible of filmmakers (cf. Ain't Them Bodies Saints, A Ghost Story) and seems to relish the dense interpretations of the Arthurian legends. He is certainly an auteur who likes to experiment with the medium at his disposal, and with the collaboration of CGI and poetic licence he has conjured up an otherworldly universe that is the very stuff of nightmares.

The first shock is when a tree, on horseback, rides into the middle of King Arthur’s court. As it turns out, he is a knight apparently made of bark, who sets a challenge to Arthur’s court. Whosoever can land a blow on him, can take up his green axe for the duration of a year. Gawain, King Arthur’s nephew, steps forward, but when he raises his sword, the Green Knight kneels before him and offers his neck. Momentarily taken aback, Gawain beheads the stranger, and is declared a hero. The Green Knight then picks up his head and, with much guttural laughter, rides out of Camelot. If one suspects that this is a hard act to follow, what ensues is full of such logistical anarchy as magic, illusion and witchcraft bedevil Gawain’s quest to fulfil his vocation. The surreal Irish landscape, eerie music and dreamlike lighting adds to the innate weirdness, along with a series of bizarre cameos and wraiths. Fans of Lowery (and there are many) will lap this all up. Others should approach the material with caution.

JAMES CAMERON-WILSON

Cast: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury, Barry Keoghan, Erin Kellyman, Kate Dickie, Atheena Frizzell, Nita Mishra, Tara McDonagh, Sean Harris, Ralph Ineson.

Dir David Lowery, Pro Toby Halbrooks, James M. Johnston, David Lowery, Tim Headington and Theresa Steele Page, Screenplay David Lowery, Ph Andrew Droz Palermo, Pro Des Jade Healy, Ed David Lowery, Music Daniel Hart, Costumes Malgosia Turzanska, Sound Johnny Marshall, Dialect coach Penny Dyer.

Ley Line Entertainment/Bron Creative/Wild Atlantic Pictures/Sailor Bear-Entertainment Film Distributors.
129 mins. Ireland/USA/UK/Canada. 2020. Rel: 24 September 2021. Cert. 15.