*Premise spoilers for a 14th-century narrative poem.*
This is the other one of Dev Patel’s “I’m coming for your English lit” roles, along with The Personal History of David Copperfield. Both films were originally scheduled to come out in May of 2020, which obviously didn’t happen. While David Copperfield was released later that summer, The Green Knight got pushed back to 2021. I remember how intrigued I was by it when the trailer first came out, so I was really glad when I saw that it had finally popped up on streaming.
On Christmas Day, a mysterious Green Knight appears in King Arthur’s court and challenges one of his knights to a “game”: deal him a single blow, and in a year and a day, he’ll return the same blow to them. Arthur’s nephew Gaiwan, anxious to start acquiring his own tales of valor and glory, thinks he has the Knight beat, but he discovers that he’s made a grave miscalculation. The following year, he journeys to meet the Green Knight at his chapel, having numerous adventures along the way.
When these two films were going to be coming out in 2020, I remember being most excited for The Personal History of David Copperfield, even though this looked like the more inventive of the two (A24, it’s what they do!) I read the tale of Sir Gaiwan and the Green Knight for a class when I was a teenager, and let’s just say it didn’t grab me. But again, the trailer was metal as hell, and I was definitely prepared for Leading Man in English Lit Period Piece Dev Patel to give me a new appreciation for the story.
It should be said that the film is slow and the plot wanders, much like a tale that gets passed down through the centuries. Once Gaiwan sets out on his quest, his different adventures within that becomes a series of vignettes. Some are suspenseful, some bring major creep vibes, and some are tinged with wonder. Throughout, the visuals and the music are stunning. The film uses light and color so well, and it’s always compelling, even if I don’t always know the “purpose” behind a particular plot point.
What I like best about the film, even more than the engrossing direction and incredible design, is the characterization of Gaiwan. With some of those older texts that I read in school, one thing that I tended to struggle with was not feeling any connection to the characters. I’m sure plenty of that was just down to struggles with the language, understanding what the characters are doing without feeling who they are. In this film, though, I get a real sense of Gaiwan and what he’s about. No idea how this portrayal compares to the original story, but I really like Dev Patel’s performance here. I like that Gaiwan is well-meaning and often brave but also scared and kind of lost. I like that he wants to make a name for himself but gets in over his head without even fully realizing it, and I like that he gets himself in trouble with rookie mistakes but tries to be better, even if he gets overwhelmed at times and tries to reject his quest.
Patel is certainly the main attraction here, but the film boasts other talented actors too. His mother is played by Sarita Choudhury, while Ralph Ineson plays the Green Knight. Alicia Vikander does double duty as Gaiwan’s girlfriend Essel and a Lady he meets on his travels. Other characters that Gaiwan encounters on his quest include folks played by Barry Keoghan, Erin Kellyman (Enfys Nest from Solo,) and Joel Edgerton, and Game of Thrones alum Kate Dickie (Liya Arryn) plays the queen.
Warnings
Violence, sexual content, drinking, disturbing images, and thematic elements.
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