The Green Knight is a 2021 medieval fantasy film written, directed, edited, and produced by David Lowery based on the 14^th-centuary poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, staring Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury, Sean Harris and Ralph Ineson. The film centres around Gawain, King Arthur’s headstrong nephew who embarks on a quest to defeat the Green Knight a mysterious creature who after Gawain strikes him down states, he will kill him in one year to prove himself to his family and court. The Green Knight is a weird surreal trip that’s acts as a throwback to the acid trip 70’s fantasy films of old.

The direction in the film is great. The film contains fantastical surreal scenes juxtaposed with a gritty nature that offers fantastical elements of incredible imagery containing the tree like Knight and giants. There is also a true grittiness to the atmosphere of the film the grounds it in in a sense of reality despite the surreal nature of the film. This carries on with the mood of the film. The film is bleak and gritty throughout the fanatical elements offset that, but the film ultimately showcases the harsh brutal misery not scene in a lot of traditional medieval quest films. The style of the film is a surrealist trip through the fantasy landscape. The film harkens back to 70’s fantasy films such as The Holy Mountain, Zardoz and Wizards. The film is a surrealist acid trip fantasy film though an arthouse landscape overing up incredibly insane imagery. If you enjoy those kinds of seventies acid trip fantasy films The Green Knight is a film for you. It will give you an otherworldly experience.

The acting in the film is good. Dev Patell does a good job as Sir Gawain. He portrays a character who is ultimately I bit of a scummy induvial just wanting an easy life gorging himself on drink and women although he is ultimately not a terrible person and by the end you do genially feel sorry for him as the film goes on. Alicia Vikander does a good job as Essel. She plays a kind induvial that genially cares for Gawain. Joel Edgerton does a good job as the Lord. He plays a character who seems nice buts also tries to deceive Gawain creating a film were everyone seems got be out for themselves. Sarita Choudhury does a good job as mother. Her character is mysterious and helps Gawain on his joinery acting as another mysterious element to the film. Sean Harris does a good job as King Arthur playing a kind wise character that does genially care for Gawain but can see through all his lies. Finally, Ralph Ineson does a good job as the Green Knight, he portrays an intelligent creature that isn’t just a scary monster for the hero to face and showcases some impressive practical make up effects.

The writing in the film is good. The film plays of as a combination of a classic medieval fantasy film and epic ancient story. All the traditional fantasy trapping are there, however throughout the story they are subverted. The hero is not the brave gallant knight, the villain is not an evil heartless monster. All these traditional fantasy features at play within the film are used to subvert expectations and present a dark gritty realistic portrayal of fantasy. Sir Gawain is a cowardly somewhat unlikable hero who does not fit the traditional image of medieval knights; however, he is not entirely unlikable as you do feel genuine sympathy for him. The Green Knight acts more human than monster with a genuine sense of empathy for Gawain’s situation. 

The cinematography of the film is also good. The film has a very surrealistic unique style. The colour pallet in the film is beautiful the use of colours within the film really help to give off another worldly surrealist atmosphere that really complements the experiences. The use of close ups and careful framing in the film as well also help with the style of the film and create a unique visual aesthetic that complements the film well. The practical effects are also good. The practical effects on the Green Knight are great and its nice to see a practical monster deign in a film. The CGI in the film is also decent with some relay interesting shots in the film such as the main character going through a landscape were monster’s roam.

Overall, The Green Knight is a great surrealistic crazy fantasy romp through a unique landscape. With modern fantasy films such as The Lord of the Rings films, The Hobbit films, the Harry Potter films or even the modern Star Wars films its nice to see another acid trip fantasy film again.