Review of The Green Knight (2021) by Manofreason — 22 Aug 2021

As with nearly any subject nowadays, opinions are quickly polarised with broad and often incorrect assumptions - one being that if you don't think The Green Knight is very good, you are brainless cretin who does not appreciate non-mainstream cinema.

But it is quite possible to have a deep understanding of the possibilities of convention breaking cinema, yet still regard The Green Knight as pretentious and hollow. For some reason, many film critics, perhaps starved of genuine new visionaries, have latched on to Lowery as a new 'voice' who has at least has the outward appearance of being fresh and profound.

Why does Lynch's voice seem so strange yet also so very effective? Somehow, the specifics of his craft combine with a sensibility that commands your attention. One of the problems with Lowery is his craft actually obstructs your engagement. Overly showy shots and excessive reliance on cross-cut editing undermine the sense of engagement with the overall concept and give the film the consistency of a high level music video. The film also asserts its own greatness with an insistent score that has more in common with conventional Hollywood underscoring than it thinks. Lowery wants you to feel the impact of every image, yet you are never given the opportunity to engage, even on a subconscious level, as the film rarely settles long enough on any scene to be immersive, preferring to restlessly cut away. So the film feels both slow and very rushed at the same time.

Unfortunately, whatever his intention was, Lowery's vision does not reach a level where it feels even necessary to analyse his interpretation of the original poem. Dev Patel is good though.