The Green Knight (2021) Review

The Green Knight (2021)

The Green Knight follows Gawain, a young knight who accepts the challenge of the Green Knight, risking his head on a perilous journey to prove himself before his family and court. 

The newest entry from cinema’s foremost modern auteurs, A24, is an epic fantasy tale of chivalric love, honor, and probably most surprising of all, coming of age in a way. Gawain, the nephew of King Arthur, plays life fast and loose, for one who should be out making his own stories as a young knight. The Green Knight gives him this opportunity however, allowing Gawain to ‘prove’ himself in battle, as well as his courage no less than a year later. Watching him grow along his journey, as a naive young man, to a battered and bruised adult, forced to mature in an instant thanks to the endless trials beset before him, it’s really what the whole movie is about. Building him to be a brave knight, even in the face of death, a constant threat in this film. It’s akin to the trials King Arthur himself faced, making this doubly a movie about family legacy and overcoming the shadow that you’re born into. 

Interweaving all sorts of fantasy elements like giants, talking animals, ghosts, mythical knights, and the temptations of love builds beautifully to the moment we’ve all been dreading, Gawain’s own beheading, a moral test to see if he will cower back home and live through tragedy after tragedy, or if he will stay and earn his given right as a knight like his uncle before him. It’s done stunningly well, and amidst the gorgeous visuals and fucking phenomenal sound design, makes for one of the years best films. 

Green Knight boasts a spectacular cast, starring Alicia Vikander, Erin Kellyman, Barry Keoghan, Sean Harris, Joel Edgerton, Ralph Ineson, and Dev Patel. For what little Ineson is in the film, he steals every scene as the hauntingly larger than life Green Knight. Patel also captures all of the naivety and poise needed for such a character as Gawain. 

The Green Knight, directed wonderfully by David Lowery, scratches a long nagging itch by giving us an epic Arthurian tale worthy of the legendary stories, forcing Gawain to fight for every inch of the bravery and heroism he so longs for, ultimately not backing down in the face of death but facing in head on (or off technically). 

8.8/10