Film Review: The Green Knight ('21, Dir: David Lowery)

The Green Knight (2021)

Written for the screen and Directed by David Lowery 

Few things sting as much as the notion of being disappointed by something you were really looking forward to. From the inception and announcement of this project to the gorgeous trailers to the inevitable pandemic delay, The Green Knight has been high on top of my list of most anticipated films. Everything about it seemed right up my alley, and as a huge fan of David Lowery's previous work, notably A Ghost Story, which I think is a modern masterpiece, I was salivating as I sat down to finally see this film. Perhaps that was my fault. We are the masters of our own expectations, after all, and if you don't anticipate something you can't be disappointed. Regardless, this is where we are at, and it leaves me no joy to note that I found The Green Knight to be a dour, empty exercise in aesthetic and mood that never coalesces into a dramatically compelling narrative. Let's examine further...

To be clear, under no circumstance would I call The Green Knight a bad movie. The film is simply too accomplished on an artistic level to even consider that. Lowery remains an incredibly impressive filmmaker. The film has gorgeous design and texture and mood, with astounding cinematography from Andrew Droz Palermo. There are shots and images in this film that are truly arresting, and I won't soon forget them. The production and costume design are also top notch; everything in the film is handsome and lived in, with a genuine texture that feels rare. Daniel Hart's score perfectly accompanies the imagery, all of which melds to create a mood and tone that should, in theory, be darkly poetic. The performances are also uniformly excellent, with Dev Patel once again showing that he's one of our finest young talents, commanding the screen with an equal blend of gravitas and vulnerability and, yes, sexiness. Joel Edgerton is also fantastic in a small but pivotal role. And my favorite part of the film? A fox that accompanies Gawain (Patel) on part of his journey. I adore foxes, and the design and usage of the character is both adorable and appropriately uncomfortable. 

Yet none of this was enough to compensate for what I found to be a remarkably dull and hollow affair. I am familiar with the poem Sir Gawain and The Green Knight upon which this film is based. I do not care about fidelity in adaptations. Choices are made here that stray from the material. That's fine! I appreciate that. But to me, the choices don't make any narrative sense. In an attempt to establish an ethereal, dream-like, almost fugue state, I couldn't help but feel that Lowery also forgot to tell a compelling story. I'm not even saying that I needed or wanted action or thrills! Not every fantasy movie has to be Lord of the Rings. But the classic archetypal characters of Arthurian legend are just that. We never go any deeper. The characters are stock puppets, moving throughout the film without purpose or incisiveness. I appreciate films that are experimental and take risks. I love Lynch and Gilliam and Buñuel, to name a few. Great cinema can be rife with symbolism and short on story and narrative if it coalesces and make and impact. Not for one second did I feel that to be the case here. The film almost takes on an aimless quality. We join Gawain on his quest in an effort to explore the nature of honor and integrity and masculinity, but I don't think Lowery ever once actually dives beneath the surface to say anything of merit. There is a desultory quality to the proceedings that frankly made me angry. Moments linger far beyond the point of interest. It becomes languid and sleepy. I never once felt like I knew Gawain or what was driving him or what his goals were. I felt like Lowery wanted to show off his particular brand of A24 indie fantasy magic, and while the idea of a cinematic tone poem can work, The Green Knight simply did not for me. So while I hesitate to call the film objectively bad, as noted above, I absolutely did not like it at all. I absolutely hate to be "that guy" but the pacing of this film is such that it felt at least twice as long as it is, if not more. I was bored to tears. I recognize that calling something boring is the least intellectual or constructive form of criticism, but in this case... the shoe fits. The next time I'm suffering from a bout of insomnia I know exactly what movie to put on.