Luke McWilliams gives his review of the 2022 historical action drama film, The Northman, starring Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgård and Ethan Hawke.
Back in AD 895, King Aurvandill (Ethan Hawke) returns from his overseas conquests to his kingdom on the island of Hrafnsey. The kingdom happily celebrates the King’s reunion with his wife, Queen Gudrún (Nicole Kidman), and his young son and heir, Prince Amleth (to be later played by Alexander Skarsgård). The next day however, the King is besieged upon by his own brother Fjölnir (Claes Bang).
Director Robert Eggers continues to go from strength to strength, starting with his debut directorial effort The Witch, a disturbing folktale, and continuing with The Lighthouse, a psychological horror infused with Greek mythology. The Northman is a sprawling revenge tale based on the legend of Amleth, the inspiration for Shakespeare’s Hamlet. With harsh environments, realistic costumes and props, and brutal violence, it is rich and authentic. While the landscapes and country-hopping is epic, the frame is constrained around our characters, offering an intimate and visceral experience.
Skarsgård adopts his lion-inspired physicality from True Blood; his hulking frame displaying his Viking roots. Where Amleth brings the rage and the brawn, the sorceress Olga (Anna Taylor-Joy), brings the cunning and seduction to try to exact the machinations of a successful revenge. Things aren’t all smooth once this simplistic and toxic wish for vengeance is contrasted against the established path to power and notions of forgiveness and acceptance.
Verdict: A stark retelling of Hamlet elevated by Egger’s striking signature cosmic surrealist imagery. 4 stars.
Viewed at Palace Cinemas.
- Luke McWilliams | themovieclub.net
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