The Northman has just been released here in the UK, and after having a chance to watch
the film early, I think it's an outstanding piece of filmmaking.
Robert Eggers brings his distinct artistic approach to the story of Amleth,
one of tregedy and revenge that has been told many times before, but he puts his stamp on
it in all the best of ways.
In this spoiler-free review, I'm going to be discussing Robert
Eggers The Northman and listing the reasons why I think it's one of the best movies of
the year.
But before I get into it, if you want to see more videos and reviews on auteurs like Eggers,
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But without further a do, lets dive into my review
for The Northman.
So there are multiple film auteurs working today that have achieved a string of great
films, displaying their unique stamp with each of them.
After The Northman, I think Robert Eggers may be the next guy to join that list.
Following The Witch and The Lighthouse, the filmmaker has brought us another immersive
and relatable reflection on human nature, while again
exploring the gap between the real world and the supernatural.
But while The Northman includes much of this, it also brings a scale that we haven't seen
from Eggers before and does so in all the greatest of ways.
This is a truly brutal and beastly motion picture, gripping you from the first minute
and refusing to let go until you've experienced all of the bloodshed,
the different emotions and the transcendence that a film of this time period should bring.
Set in 10th-century Iceland and Scandinavia, Robert Eggers The Northman immerses you in
the landscapes onscreen, bringing immense detail
in both it's set design and costumes, while capturing the biggest of it's scope through
it's transporting cinematography.
There's this idea that the wall between reality and the supernatural
is quite weak and having Eggers put his take on that makes for all the strongest of outcomes.
He knows how to artistically capture this tricky idea in film form and once again
proves that it can be perfectly woven within a story that has this much ancient bloodshed.
It's truly a mesmerising watch and things become
even clearer the longer it goes on.
It's a full-on Viking film without all the modernised filters that tend to come along,
and in turn, it feels like Eggers and his team have crafted
something of another planet.
It's transportive cinema and the world put on screen is completely captivating.
It has a bit of something for everyone, and connecting the story to the
very human impulses that we all have, whether that be by vengeance or even love, it makes
it all the more relatable for differing viewers.
It's key to note that it's still an Eggers film, challenging you with all of it's imagery
and sound, but then it's also very straightforward in a way that we can all feel something from
it.
In particular, The Northman is the story of Amleth, which inspired the idea of tragedy
in Hamlet, and is pretty much engrained in a lot of stories we've had since.
Alezander Skarsgård plays a grown up Amleth, who as a boy, witnesses
the murder of his father and King, Aurvandill, played by Ethan Hawke.
Commited by his uncle Fjölnir, he watches him take his Queen mother
captive, played by Nicole Kidman, and with development yet to occur around that very
tragic moment and how characters have evolved, Amleth flees in the aim of gaining vengeance
for all the pain he felt and saw.
He will avenge his father, he will save his mother, and he will kill Fjölnir.
It's essentially the heart beat of the whole story, driving the movie in it's
questions of fate and choice.
We see that Amleth has chose to become this beastly warrior who brutally kills his enemies
and howls at the moon, but yet he feels driven by fate to conquer
everything that was taken from him.
Eggers uses close ups and long moments with the actors to really communicate this ideal,
never giving us definitive answers to those very questions,
and it makes it all the better for it.
He's a filmmaker in snyc with the very language of film, in that you can use imagery, sound
and ultimately atmosphere to let us decide what
everything means.
Amleth could have left his fate behind, but it's his destiny to be driven by the one moment
that shaped what he has become.
But it especially becomes more testing for him when he meets Anya Taylor-Joy's Olga,
a witch whose fate is bound with him.
In reflecting her role, each character in fact feels driven internally and that's hard
to pull off in a story like this with very little dialogue
at times.
But Eggers building of tension and connection to the very scenes he presents in an artistic
fashion, makes for a genius use of chemistry building and quite the bond that
drives the film.
Each performance is a complete world in and of itself and I think Skarsgård, Taylor-Joy
and Kidman stand out as the ones that present this idea of choice vs fate quite
effectively, uniquely and ever-present in our minds.
Moving on, I think there's going to be quite the mixed response to how this film tells
it's story.
The one side of it, is like I say, an Eggers films with a true delivered style in
balancing the real brutality against that of the supernatural.
But the other side is that this could be looked at as a traditional epic set in the world
of Vikings, with another retelling of Hamlet, the greatest story ever
told about revenge.
I did feel this in certain moments throughout watching it all unfold, but while it may be
a bigger problem for some other viewers, for me, the vision of Eggers pushed
it well over the mark of safety.
They use a familiar tale to tell a new story about the rage of man and how the revenge
of a child is much more complicated over time.
It creates the question of how huge expectations can lead to a sense of loneliness, especially
when you get the answers you didn't expect.
It propells the idea of psychological confusion, and I think
that pushes this story beyond it being just a famous retelling.
And coupled with Eggers flair, it makes this a new watch of a familar story.
I can understand some will say they've seen it all before but that's what I personally
got from it.
A balancing of an Eggers Viking story with all the real and supernatural ideals of
human nature driving it.
Yes, it doesn’t always balance these two halves effectively, but it's minor gripe with
overall piece which has so much to love.
The Northman is a brooding revenge story, that is infused with epic artistry
of Robert Eggers, and that calls for a challenging film, but also an entertaining one too.
And I think for the most part, that was executed really well.
The main positive I got from The Northman is that while the story events are quite predictable
in realtion to the story it inspires, I was always intrigued by Eggers excellent use of
atmosphere and tone in all the imagery I recieved.
It uses it's sublime landscape shots and stylized scenes of battle to blend a grounded world
with that of the mystical.
And those visions are also some of the most strikingly
executed alongside all of the film's depiction of Norse mythology.
Then there's the great score by Robin Carolan and co, who give us
unbalanced tribal trums in a lot of the brutal real world scenes contrasted with that of
the more abstract sounds in the visions.
The music alongside that of the cinematogrpahy is what
I'd consider a great entry point for more of the general audience in establishing what
each of the scenes are and what they convey.
It helps create the filmic landscape and tone that
Eggers went for in telling this iconic story.
And then there's the many sequences of violence and gore, ones that stretch the 15 age rating
with beheadings, torture, and too much more to
list off.
One scene that has stuck with me after watching The Northman is the raid that takes place
soon after we meet a grown up Amleth, with Eggers capturing the complete chaos of it
all in just a few sweeping shots.
It allows you to witness the absolute carnage that this period is alligned with and the
beast that Amleth has become due to his past.
The intention was for this to be a Viking movie and there's
no question that Eggers has achieved that with The Northman.
This is a visionary depiction of a story that oozes style, even if it is based on
one that weve seen many of times before.
If you're gonna tell a story that has leaked it's way into many modern stories today at
least tell it with your own artistic expressions.
And Eggers has totally done that.
But that was my spoiler-free review for The Northman.
Like the Hamlet tragedy, the story of Amleth is one that relates to the very human feelings
and impulses we all have, whether that be through vengeance, inner rage, love or
wanting peace.
Robert Eggers The Northman touches on all of these, showing that we haven't really changed
over time when reflecting on them and the filmmaking choices and the way the director
frames his scenes, really demonstrate that well.
The worst parts of our nature still control us today and we are left to howl at the moon
and make often rectless choices to try and achieve what we desire.
Yes it's based on a more brutal point in our history, and it can be exagerrated in this
medium but the very themes and ideals relate more then ever.
It's a film that does recite a story which we've seen play out in many different genres
over history, but the unique sense that Eggers brings in the
language of his films, including this one, make for a watch that stands out among the
best of the year.
It's deeply impactful and the creative choices really make this stand out more
than most.
I'm giving The Northman a rating of 8.75 out of 10.
But to those who have already seen the film, what were your thoughts on Robert Eggers latest
big screen event and did you love it as much as I did.
Let me know down below in the comments section.
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