The Northman, 2022.
Directed by Robert Eggers.
Starring Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Ethan Hawke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Gustav Lindh, Elliott Rose, Willem Dafoe, Phill Martin, Olwen Fouéré, Eldar Skar, Edgar Abram, Jack Gassmann, Ingvar E. Sigurðsson, Oscar Novak, Jack Walsh, Björk, Ian Whyte, Katie Pattinson, Andrea O’Neill, Rebecca Ineson, Kate Dickie, Ísadóra Bjarkardóttir Barney, Kevin Horsham, Seamus O’Hara, Scott Sinclair, Tadhg Murphy, James Yates, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, Ian Gerard Whyte, Ralph Ineson, Murray McArthur, Nille Glæsel, Jonas Lorentzen, Magne Osnes, Ineta Sliuzaite, Helen Roche, Gareth Parker, Faoileann Cunningham, Luca Evans, James Harper-Jones, Thomas Harper-Jones, Sheila Fitton, and Lily Bird.
SYNOPSIS:
From visionary director Robert Eggers comes The Northman, an action-filled epic that follows a young Viking prince on his quest to avenge his father’s murder.
Coming from writer and visionary director Robert Eggers (The Witch and The Lighthouse), the simplistic narrative nature of The Northman is shocking. However, simplicity is something one can afford so long as they are masters of their craft and capable of utterly annihilating our senses (think insane tracking shots during battle or for immersion purposes, meticulously researched Viking lore, arresting photography, and obsessive levels of period piece detail). It’s an epic visual and aural experience operating on the same wavelength of primal rage as its protagonist. There is also the bonus that Robert Eggers (this time co-writing with Lamb‘s Sjón) doesn’t tell glorifying tales. If he is doing a revenge story involving Vikings, you are getting Vikings at their most animalistic and brutal, alongside a plethora of fascinating and marvelously realized mysticism pulling from various in-depth researched corners of Norse mythology.
Playing up hypermasculinity once again, The Northman is self-aware of how absurd the characters’ beliefs are. One of the first things Ethan Hawke’s King Aurvandil War Raven tells his young princely child Amleth is that he refuses to die from illness and that should he die in battle, the boy’s life will be dedicated to avenging that loss. Complete with Willem Dafoe making a glorified cameo as a jester servant, this plot thread is played straight but not without its humorous qualities. Hell, immediately after putting his son through physically intense coming-of-age Viking rituals, there is a cut to the King instantly getting murdered, as if Robert Eggers is winking to the audience about the silliness of such masculine creeds. Beyond that, the story is no laughing matter, and all the better for it.
Flash forward to “years later,” where a grown-up Amleth is played by a shredded Alexander Skarsgård, having abandoned his land to join a pack of killers and thieves that behave more like bears and wolves than humans. On that note, everyone is operating on a twisted moral compass here (although Amleth does draw a line at killing women and children). One could say Amleth is running from his fate, as a creepy seeress (Bjork) points out, eventually leading him to disguise himself as one of the enslaved to make his way to the property of his uncle Fjölnir the Brotherless (Claes Bang, crushing what feels like one of the first major American roles of his career), who kidnapped Amleth’s mother Queen Gudrún (a thickly accented Nicole Kidman who is turned loose in unexpected ways) after murdering for the crown.
While stowing away on one of the slave ships, Amleth also becomes smitten with Anya Taylor-Joy’s Olga of the Birch Forest, primarily existing as a love interest but wisely not written to lose her dignity at every corner at the hands of the enslavers (you know a lesser film would be all about punishing her at the expense of further enraging Amleth, but here, Olga stands her ground about as much as anyone in her position can). Robert Eggers also uses this brief downtime to explore sheep farming Viking life and a deadly sport that leaves Amleth delivering a series of visceral headbutts, just in case one needed a reminder that the violence here is sadistic and beastly. There is also a quest for a special sword tied to Amleth’s fate that makes for an effectively placed and briefly thrilling side adventure expanding on more myths.
It’s not long before Amleth faces serious decisions regarding kinship and revenge, barreling towards a fiery conclusion. And throughout every scene, The Northman is charged up to ramming speed by a propulsive, adrenaline-pumping score from Robin Carolan and Sebastian Gainsborough that lends a dramatic weight to nearly every interaction. The soundtrack and sound design are both downright mesmerizing, as is the brutality sweepingly captured by regular Robert Eggers collaborating cinematographer Jarin Blaschke (lensing one of the most atmospheric and to-die-for badass final sword fighting confrontations in quite some time). Yes, it’s safe to say that The Northman offers a riveting and grimy, sensational spectacle that straddles the line between eerie and fist-pumping.
Admittedly, the story does settle into a relatively systematic study of cycles of violence passed down from men to their sons at unsettlingly young ages and the necessity of breaking such a chain. There is a feeling that Robert Eggers could have done something slightly more original with the material than a straight-up revenge story, but as it stands, this is the template masterfully elevated by flooring craftsmanship in every aspect of filmmaking. It is the performance of a lifetime for Alexander Skarsgård, balancing the primal with a newfound softer side and a desire to cut the ties that bind just as much as the head off of the man that took everything from him as a child. The Northman is an exhilarating, unrelenting, authentically barbaric tale of rage and romance.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
