Though it may seem unknightly, The Green Knight (2021) will not hold your hand. It takes its sweet time, it doesn't try to engage the viewer with adrenaline-fueled swashbuckling sequences of adventure. It does not care if you can't clearly understand the English of old.
All of these seem like flaws but they're actually the movie's greatest strengths. The Green Knight does not actively try to be easy to follow both visually or through dialogue, and in doing so becomes so much more immersive and hypnotic. Instead of relying on drawn-out action sequences, David Lowery tries to enchant you with The Green Knight's cinematography and mise-en-scene, and succeeds.
The film is very light on plot as it is a decidedly simple adaptation of a simple legend. So if you're into movies with a particularly ambitious story, this definitely isn't the movie for you. What The Green Knight lacks in terms of being a commercially appealing film, it makes up for by being cinema. And as cinema, it is profound.
This is an exquisite treat for the eyes and the ears. The score, the sound design, the camerawork, the lighting, the editing, the costumes, the effects, everything superbly comes together to create something wholly original.
This is not an action film. It is a film about honor. It's not a big-budget extravaganza but very evidently arthouse cinema that serves another purpose- just so you know what to expect.
If you appreciate cinema as an art form, watch this in a theater.
All of these seem like flaws but they're actually the movie's greatest strengths. The Green Knight does not actively try to be easy to follow both visually or through dialogue, and in doing so becomes so much more immersive and hypnotic. Instead of relying on drawn-out action sequences, David Lowery tries to enchant you with The Green Knight's cinematography and mise-en-scene, and succeeds.
The film is very light on plot as it is a decidedly simple adaptation of a simple legend. So if you're into movies with a particularly ambitious story, this definitely isn't the movie for you. What The Green Knight lacks in terms of being a commercially appealing film, it makes up for by being cinema. And as cinema, it is profound.
This is an exquisite treat for the eyes and the ears. The score, the sound design, the camerawork, the lighting, the editing, the costumes, the effects, everything superbly comes together to create something wholly original.
This is not an action film. It is a film about honor. It's not a big-budget extravaganza but very evidently arthouse cinema that serves another purpose- just so you know what to expect.
If you appreciate cinema as an art form, watch this in a theater.