The Green Knight (2021)

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/the-green-knight-spoiler-free-review

"The Green Knight is a slow-burn character study with some of the best visuals and sound work I've ever witnessed. David Lowery delivers a thematically heavy, superbly structured narrative focused on the self-discovering journey of the flawed protagonist Sir Gawain. Dev Patel leads with an extraordinarily subtle, powerful performance, accompanied by an equally impressive supporting cast. Andrew Droz Palermo's stunning cinematography, Daniel Hart's atmosphere-setting score, and especially Johnny Marshall's impactful sound design deeply elevate the tremendous epic scope that this movie holds. However, some fantastical elements feel irrelevant, the lack of any sort of action deeply affects the snail-like pacing, and the execution of the ending ultimately leaves me feeling slightly underwhelmed, though admittedly caught by surprise. In the end, it's still an epic character piece that I highly recommend to any fantasy fan but beware of unrealistically high, action-based expectations."

Rating: B+

I found this movie to be mostly intriguing, and I have no qualm with the acting. I must confess that in a couple of places it dragged for me, once to the point where I nodded off for a few minutes. To be fair, I was also operating on not enough sleep lately.

I thought it odd that Essel, Sir Gawain’s girlfriend, had such short hair. Was that a thing in the Middle Ages? There are a couple of plot twists that add a little zing to the story, which I will not reveal here. Rather I will say that the ending reminded me a little of the ending of The Last Temptation of Christ. Also, you should pay attention to it s it winds down, so that you know what is going on.

So file this film with others that I probably won’t watch a second time, but which I don’t regret spending two hours on.

_The Green Knight_ is an epic character study that takes it's time following the path of a man finding worth in his life, but that slow progression is also its downfall.

This movie was really gripping at first, I was invested in the first 30 minutes but that flow slowly starts to fade during the mid-section. At this point the scenes begin to drag a bit and the story jumps from one section to the next so quickly that it can be a bit disorienting as to where you are. Despite the slight pacing issues, this film is still a treat to watch.

The visuals and the atmosphere of this film is really well done, each scene felt perfectly crafted. The mix between CGI and practical affects are a real bright spot as today so many movies rely too much on the computerized effects. The tone had me completely captivated, as adventure unfolds there are many darks turns where our protagonist has to preserver to get to his objective. This perseverance is what evolves him as a character and is what enables him to be worthy of knighthood. I bought that evolution due to the fantastic job Dev Patel does in this film.

Patel encapsulates so much of what Gawain is, a reckless and immature child who has done nothing with his life. This causes a great deal of insecurity as he feels not worthy to be in the presence of his uncle, the king, even though he has royal blood. The sense of unsureness is carried throughout the film brilliantly by Patel, and it is not until the end where he truly becomes worthy for the crown. This performance is spectacular, and Dev Patel deserves all the accolades for this film.

Overall, _The Green Knight_ was a really interesting experience. Although it does not warrant its runtime and pacing could have been done better, it is still an excellent film that I enjoyed. Even after watching, the more research I do and more I think about it, the more it gets better due to the complex symbolism and presentation that does not make itself known on the first watch.

**Grade:** _83%_
**Verdict:** _Great_

Dev Patel is just as wrong for Sir Gawain as he as for David Copperfield, but it's not his fault that The Green Knight is an incoherent mess; the responsibility lies entirely with writer/director/editor David Lowery.
Early on in the film, King Arthur (Sean Harris) tells Gawain, "Tell me a story about yourself so I can get to know you." Gawain replies that he has no story to tell; two hours later he still doesn't have one save for a few disjointed episodes that ultimately equal less than the sum of their parts.

Poor time management is another issue; it takes the movie a very long 15 minutes to introduce the Green Knight (voice of Ralph Ineson), but when he issues his challenge, Gawain immediately jumps the gun without giving anyone else even a chance to turn it down.

This situation, which offers great dramatic possibilities, is the one that Lowery should milk for all that it’s worth; on the other hand, maybe he’s aware of how disappointing his Green Knight is and wants to get him out of the way as soon as possible until he inevitably has to reappear at the end.

Sean Connery’s Green Knight from Sword of the Valiant looks like the bastard son of Santa Claus and Saint Patrick, but at least he’s flesh and blood and played by an exceptional actor; that is to say, a million times better than the medieval Groot that Lowery comes up with.

This Green Knight is not just ugly, but also dumb. He carries a letter explaining the reason for his visit; this missive is read by the Queen in a distorted voice, as if she was possessed or something; is the Knight, whose severed head is capable of speech, speaking through her? And if so, what exactly is the point of the letter then?

Of course, after the frustrating resolution that resolves nothing (complete with an example of It's A Wonderful Plot, specifically the kind experienced by Willem Dafoe in The Last Temptation of Christ) a better question would be, what's the point of this movie?

This film is the product of a shamelessly shifty director; Lowery not only casts a 'diverse' actor in the lead, but also resorts to queerbaiting in the form of a kiss between Patel and Joel Edgerton (something similar occurs in the original century XIVpoem, so we’re hardly breaking new ground here). The latter of which is doubly reprehensible, because the way the kiss is misrepresented only succeeds in making Gawain seem homophobic.

The Green Knight baffled me after the first watch; perhaps watching it at 4 am, I was too tired to fully appreciate its dreamy, slow pace. But on the second viewing, I discovered all the stunning visuals and deep symbolism I apparently slept through the first time. It turns out Dev Patel’s Sir Gawain isn’t just wandering around aimlessly, getting his end away.