“The Green Knight” Review
Dev Patel stars in “The Green Knight” as Sir Gawain, a knight of Arthur’s Round Table who goes on a long quest to face the titular Green Knight.
With the world of movie fantasies largely taken up by sequels and spin-offs like “The Fantastic Beasts” series and “The Hobbit” trilogy, “The Green Knight” is a largely refreshing and more meticulous fantasy that takes a more slow and entrancing look at an Arthurian legend.
Set in the world of King Arthur, Dev Patel stars as Sir Gawain, a knight of the Round Table who wants to prove himself for his uncle King Arthur (Sean Harris). On Christmas Day, a mysterious Green Knight (Ralph Ineson) comes to Camelot asking for a knight to land a blow on him. When Gawain chops his head off, the Green Knight gets back up and tells Gawain that he must face him again in one year. One year later, Gawain must go on a journey across the landscape of Britain to find the knight and meet his destiny.
Much of the film is focused on just Gawain roaming the countryside and, while he does encounter several people and accomplishes some small quests, a good deal of the film has Gawain as the only person on screen and Patel commands the audience’s attention. While Patel already was a good actor, this film shows off his talents to a great degree. Instead of having a lot of dialogue, Patel trades his soliloquies for stunning visual acting with the way he conducts himself saying much more than any amount of dialogue.
The film’s character development is astonishing as I felt like I was going on this incredible journey with Gawain. The Green Knight is less of a constant presence and more of a goal, the end of a long journey. Much like the legends the film is based off of, the film is less about the destination and more about the trip there. Seeing Gawain evolve from a novice night into an honorable warrior is as intriguing as it is fantastic.
Director/Writer/Editor David Lowery and Cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo work together to create a beautiful looking film with an air of realistic fantasy similar to “Game of Thrones.” The entire film is so gorgeous that viewing it on mute would be just as intriguing. Instead of being focused on action and entertainment, what works about “The Green Knight” is how it hypnotizes and once locked in, it’s impossible not to get interested in the journey of Sir Gawain.
The film’s music also helps entrance with a score by Daniel Hart. His music is eerily haunting and helps make this environment feel real despite being a world of magic and knights. Between the beautiful photography, incredible music and lush environment, the entire film is one of the most stunning of 2021.
Fantasy honestly needed a film like this and what better place to find it than the studio of A24 which has become famous for bringing arthouse cinema to multiplexes. With its refreshing and practical approach to the fantasy genre the film might just be the best fantasy film since the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban” and the work of Gulliermo Del Toro. “The Green Knight” is a journey I won’t soon forget.
