Review of The Green Knight (2021) by Daveyboysmith — 31 Jul 2021

I actually signed up to show this movie some love as I'd rightly assumed that a lot of viewers would be thrashing it.

'The Green Knight' is essentially a coming-of-age tale, its plot restructured and themes re-emphasized to serve as an allegory for the anxiety of impending adulthood (or manhood) - that phase of life when we are expected to assume responsibility and to carve out a path for ourselves. While the production values are beguiling the movie cannot, due to the opaqueness of its plot, its contemplativeness and reliance on symbolism, be judged and appreciated solely on the merits of high-fantasy. As an (imo) unsuccessful attempt at enhancing the already considerable moodiness many scenes aren't adequately lit, whilst many events are frustratingly hazy. An air of melancholy surrounds the entire enterprise.

The Green Knight is auteur cinema in the truest and best sense, and an assurance that the Hollywood studio system still allows for personal movie-making in big-budget genre cinema. It is a lovely counterpoint to Peter Jackson's bombastic, but kitschy Lord of the Rings trilogy.