The Green Knight (2021) Movie Review

I’ll be honest, when The Green Knight first appeared on the horizon I put it on my “I don’t care to see this” list. I generally like medieval King Arthur tales so I’m not sure why this didn’t immediately catch my eye. However, after reading countless reviews and having several close friends recommend it to me I decided I needed to go check it out. For those of you who think this will be a daring adventure movie similar to Lord of the Rings or the more traditional King Arthur blockbuster type movie, you will be sorely disappointed. The Green Knight is a wild ride more akin to an indie arthouse movie than an action adventure.

The movie begins by introducing us to Sir Gawain (Dev Patel), the nephew of King Arthur (Sean Harris) and Queen Guinevere (Kate Dickie). His mother is Morgan Le Fay (Sarita Choudhury), a woman who is known for witchcraft in the village. He has a lover (Alicia Vikander) who he cavorts with regularly. At a Christmas dinner, the Green Knight (Ralph Ineson) shows up unannounced. He faces the room of knights and challenges them to a game. One knight will step up and try to land a blow on him. If they manage to, they will have to make the trek to the Green Chapel one year hence and the Green Knight will land the same blow onto them. Gawain boldly steps forward and despite being reminded that it is a game from King Arthur, proceeds to behead the Green Knight. Unfazed by this beheading, the Green Knight picks up his head and laughing maniacally leaves the room.

Gawain spends the year doing nothing of real significance as the threat of meeting the Green Knight looms ever closer. When it is time to head to the Green Chapel, Gawain leaves. We now enter the quest phase of the movie. Gawain is swindled by a young thief, posing as a helpful navigator. He meets a woman in an abandoned house who asks him for a favor. Gawain reluctantly agrees but only after asking what he will get in return. The woman kindly asks him to retrieve her head from the lake. She relays a story of a man who came into her house, raped her, and then cut off her head. When Gawain jumps in the lake to retrieve it for her, the lake suddenly turns into a sea of stars. Do you see where the indie art house movie reference comes into play yet? When I say this movie is odd, I mean it.

Of course he eventually makes it to the Green Chapel to meet the Green Knight but I won’t spoil the ending for you. I saw this several days ago and I am still pondering different parts of the story. Gawain isn’t your typical “hero” (although he is quite handsome). At one point, someone tells him, “You are no knight.” And I think that about sums it up. We watch a quest of a young man who possesses very few of the qualities we associate with knights as he fumbles his way through a journey. We see him desperately wanting to make his uncle proud and claim his place as a Knight of the Roundtable, but he can’t quite set aside his selfish and weak tendencies to do so.

You might be asking yourself, “Why would we want to follow around a selfish punk as he seeks glory solely for himself?” Largely in part because of Dev Patel’s performance. He is completely compelling as Gawain, and utilizes phenomenal control of body language and facial expressions to ground your eyes on him. He is incredibly hard to ignore even if he is a minor player in a scene. Patel gives perhaps the performance of his life and it shows through each and every scene. Your eyes will eagerly find him in each scene and stick with him until he leaves the frame.

The Green Knight is also absolutely gorgeous. Cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo simply outdoes himself with each shot more beautiful than the last. He captures the otherworldliness of the story quite well and emphasizes the eerie quality of the world Gawain is traveling through. It was a feast for the eyes for certain which made it all the more enjoyable and compelling. The Green Knight is not at all what I thought it would be. You could spend many hours dissecting what happened and why (and I have). I don’t want to spoil anyone’s experience so I will refrain from doing so here.

But please know what you’re getting into if you see this one. It’s not a medieval battle movie like Lord of the Rings. It’s an ephemeral, journey of an antihero who stumbles through his quest. Nothing is as it seems and some things make little sense. But it is all part of the world and must be accepted as such. It is one of the most interesting movies I’ve seen in quite a long time and for that reason I have decided that I liked it. It is rare to find a movie that subverts all expectations and gives you a beautiful puzzle to ponder. The Green Knight will leave you bewildered but amazed at the beauty of even the most despicable parts of humanity. 

You’ll like this movie if:
1. You like stories about King Arthur
2. You like movies that are fantastical
3. You like the meandering style of indie art house movies