A24's newest film just came out this week, and I could not even wait until the official start of the weekend to see it. I skipped track club on Thursday, so I could go and see it opening night. David Lowrey's The Green Knight released as an undercard to the weekend, it had less publicity than Jungle Cruise, Disney's new juggernaut, and Still Water, Matt Damon's new movie that has already received much acclaim. I had high expectations for this movie, and it met them! A24 is known for producing more art house type movies, they are not typically involved in making massive blockbusters, but the height of their movies are excellent, but the lows of their movies are quite bad, they are really hit or miss. This film was a hit, and I hope that it gains the traction that it deserves and becomes more well known. (Spoilers ahead)
The Green Knight is the story of King Arthur's nephew, Gawain. At the start of the film, Gawain has not accomplished much, King Arthur asks him to tell him a story at the Christmas feast, but Gawain does not have one to share, bring in the Green Knight. The Green Knight was half man half tree, and he looked exceptional. He challenged those in attendance to a game, if anyone can strike a blow on him, they receive his massive, beautifully crafted axe, but in one year, that person must come to the Green Church and allow the Green Knight to return the same blow. Gawain takes this challenge, but he beheads the Green Knight, and the Green Knight puts his head back on and rides off laughing.
A year passes and Gawain starts to take his journey with the goal of becoming a real knight and to gain some honor. Just like any classic legend, he faces multiple trials upon his journey. He runs into a young man who traps and robs him of the axe he won from the Green Knight. He also retrieves a head for a ghost who had been beheaded. Then he ends up at the house of a very rich man, and Gawain receives a gift from the wife before he goes to see the Green Knight.
One of the greatest parts of this movie that cannot really be described is the scenery and the artfulness of the shots. The story was great, but the filming was phenomenal. The filming took place mainly in Ireland and featured some very scenic views of mountain vistas and forests. Even the more CGI based scenes were still stunning. Their use of smoke/fog was always excellent in setting the tone as well, especially in the night scenes when they would color it. The film had a very dark vibe to it, so when they decided to use colors, they stood out as very vibrant. Even the lack of lighting in the movie added to the tone of the story. Much of the imagery gave off a vastness and grandeur that made Gawain seem small in comparison, which put the role of humanity, and especially that of one human trying to become a legend, in perspective.
The movie had a strong focus on honor and the goal of becoming a legendary knight. Gawain at the start of the film only has notoriety due to his blood relation to the King, which is not much. He has no courageous battle story or chivalrous acts to his name, so when the Green Knight arrives, Gawain makes the idiotic decision of beheading him, even though the stakes of the game were clear. His lack of reputation got the better of him, and he made the wrong decision, but he received the acclaim he wanted. The next situation he has the chance to be a decent human came from the encounter with the young man in the field who gives him directions. The boy was clearly from a lesser home, and if he was to be believed, had just lost his brothers in the battle, but when he helps Gawain, all Gawain gives to the boy is a coin. The boy was clearly upset by this, and later robs Gawain in the woods. It is unclear if Gawain would have been more charitable if the boy still would have robbed him, but he claims he did it because Gawain gave him next to nothing.
This lack of chivalry continues to Gawain's next task. He ends up at the house of a woman who had been murdered and beheaded. She asks Gawain to retrieve her head from the body of water in which it had been thrown, and his response to this was, "What do I get if I do?" Not a very honorable question to ask. Typically, a knight would help a girl in need without knowing that there is a reward involved. Then in his last test before the Green Knight, he ends up at a small castle. In the castle there is a man and his wife, and the wife's blind mother. While at the castle Gawain agrees to another terrible deal. The husband goes out hunting, but he makes Gawain promise whatever he receives from the house while he is hunting, that Gawain will give it to the husband. Well Gawain sleeps with the man's wife, and she gives him a belt that makes him invincible. When Gawain is leaving, he comes across the husband in the forest and gives him a kiss and not the belt. So not only did he not keep the promise of giving the husband whatever he received, he also slept with his wife. Not typically what a person thinks of when they want to become honorable and a legend, that aligns more with infamous and selfish.
This all boiled down to the final showdown between Gawain and the Green Knight. Gawain decapitated the Green Knight, so now the Green Knight gets to return the same blow to Gawain, but when it came time to receive the blow Gawain kept flinching even though he had the belt on to protect himself. So that in and of itself showed a lack of bravery, but when he finally had the courage to stand there, he also took off the belt. There was a moment where it seemed like the Green Knight was not going to behead him, but the last line was him saying "off with your head," and then it cuts to the end. So, his last act was of honor, so one could argue that he died with honor, but as I learned while watching The Good Place, the intention of the action does play a role in how it is received. So, although it was the right thing to do to take the belt off, it felt like he was doing it hoping that the Green Knight would spare him because his act was honorable.
There was an alternate ending that was shown before Gawain took the belt off. In this alternate ending/vision, Gawain runs off and flees back home. When he returns King Arthur is dying, Gawain has a child, he gets married, and his ruling is not going that great. Then everyone leaves him as the army breaks down the door to end his reign. The whole montage, Gawain never seems happy or fulfilled, even when the good events are occurring, so that is why he decides to take the belt off. He realizes that he really is not that honorable of a person, so even if he were to return home and become king that he would not do a good job, and that it would be unfulfilling. Thus, he takes off the belt and dies somewhat honorably.
Although the movie is fictional and takes place in a mythical world where supernatural incidents occur, there are times in the movie when it is hard to tell whether something is happening to Gawain, or if he is imagining it. There are multiple scenes where there is a strong presence of fog and color, and it feels very surreal even for a mythical world. There was the woman whose head he had to return, and when he was at the water's edge and in the water, it did not feel real. Then there was the fox that was following him and eventually communicated with him. It almost seemed like it could have been a manifestation of his consciousness trying to give him comfort. The one scene where it felt the most surreal was the interaction with the giants. He tried to communicate with them, and then the fox communicated with them, and there was something about the way it was portrayed that made it all feel dreamlike.
This movie was great! It had many of the elements that I love, it was weird, artsy, it had beautiful scenery, and a great story to accompany it all. The acting in it was excellent as well, especially Dev Patel, he played Gawain perfectly. A24 can be very hit or miss, but this was definitely a hit, and it is probably my new favorite film of the year, and it is possibly the best film of the year so far. I give it 4.5 stars! Please go and see it!
Other movies:
Blood Red Sky starts out as a typical plane hijacking but becomes twisted quickly. When the mother of a young boy is shot, she turns into a vampire, and she is willing to do whatever it takes to keep her son alive in a gore fest, which was above average, it was just a little long.
Jacob's Ladder is the story of Jacob and the visions he is going through as he is dying in Vietnam. It is not a hopeful depiction of what life is like heading into the afterlife, due to the half nightmare-like hallucinations he has, and even the ordinary aspects of his life do not seem great. It also has a strong antiwar sentiment, but it has a pleasant ending about coming to terms with death and embracing it rather than being scared.
Jungle Cruise was a family friendly female version of an Indiana Jones movie. It was a two-hour ride down the Amazon trying to find a mythical tree. It was a little more intense than I was expecting from Disney with some gross body horror. It was an okay movie, and the CGI did not hit that great.
Woodstock 99 was the story of the new age Woodstock festival that occurred in 1999. Instead of love and peace, this one was filled with rage and anger. It was a three day long disgusting event that ended in flames and sexual assault. It definitely needed more musical performances shown and a little less story telling.
Stillwater was an excellent movie. Matt Damon starred as a dad trying to free his daughter from a French prison. While doing this, he becomes ingratiated to a French family, and they become incredibly close. So it gives Damon's character a chance for redemption of being a good father. It was a compelling story that stays interesting throughout, the two hours and twenty minutes goes by quickly, and Damon gives an award worthy performance.
Rankings:
The Green Knight: 4.5 Stars
Blood Red Sky: 3.5 Stars
Jacob's Ladder: 3 Stars
Jungle Cruise: 2 Stars
Woodstock 99: 3 Stars
Stillwater: 3.5 Stars
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