Director: Robert Eggers
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Anya Taylor-Joy, Björk, Willem Dafoe
Rating: 15
Running time: 137 mins
Release Date: 15/04/2022
Something was rotten in the heart of Denmark – and then it all relocated to Iceland as one mother, Queen Gudrun (Nicole Kidman) is determined to chop everything within an inch of its life – and death – in Robert Eggers‘ brand-new adaptation of the Norse legend of Amleth, the direct inspiration for William Shakespeare’s classic play HAMLET, THE NORTHMAN.
Alexander Skarsgard is the lead protagonist, suffering a fair amount of troubles with the death of his father as a child. Now an adult, he becomes a willing slave to try and ingratiate himself into motivation to avenge his patriarchal loss, as well as proving his worth to Olga of the Birch Forest (Anya Taylor-Joy). However, vengeance is still on the menu and a priority for Amleth – and cutting off a few noses and other body parts is a suitable enough stimulus…
THE NORTHMAN does take us into the in-camera existential style of THE REVENANT, with lots of impressive locations and – when it does happen – relentless and bloody action (the blood quota is pretty full-on, coupled with some occasional erotica between Skarsgård and Taylor-Joy in the foliage), but the whole affair does drift unevenly between the mystical and mythical when it isn’t decapitating any number of slaves and warriors on screen, attempting to answer the deeper questions, not quite nailing its intentions.
The visual effects and locations are the winning virtue in this movie and the climax of the film delivers satisfying bloodshed, but it does drift around on occasion. It is also pretty humourless and cold, with not even much room for gallows humour amidst the blood and gore – with no HOLY GRAIL-Black Knight in the realm to offset the darkness.
Still, if you are looking for a point of source for one of Shakespeare’s best loved and oft-adapted works, then check out THE NORTHMAN to see where the key elements came from.
