Lowery has brought his remarkable team, including regular composer Daniel Hart and cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo. With its loose storytelling structure, the tech elements of “The Green Knight” become even more essential to its success. It becomes not so much a story of a physical journey but a mental and emotional one, a series of challenges before a young man faces his ultimate fate. Gawain’s journey becomes a spiral, feeling more and more like a dream, as if he never really left that banquet with the Green Knight to begin with, and the film gains momentum through a cumulative sense of disorientation. Lowery’s script deftly matches the poetic structure of its source, circling back to themes like the rhyming structure of a poem, and unfolding his story in what almost feel like cinematic stanzas that repeat and comment on each other. Along the way, he meets a scavenger played by Barry Keoghan, a mysterious young woman played by Erin Kellyman, and a Lord played by Joel Edgerton. This is all really prologue to “The Green Knight,” the bulk of which consists of Sir Gawain’s journey to the Green Chapel to meet his fate. The mythical creature picks up his head, which doesn’t seem too concerned about its detachment, and laughs as it rides off. Gawain steps forward, and despite being reminded that this is a game by Arthur, beheads the Green Knight. A year hence, the knight must come to the Green Chapel, where the Green Knight will return the exact strike given him a year earlier. If they can, the knight will get his imposing weapon in exchange. He challenges any of Arthur’s knights to strike him. Half-man, half-tree, he casts an imposing figure, and he wants to play “The Christmas Game.” He offers a deal. The doors to the hall burst open and the Green Knight ( Ralph Ineson) enters. (He does so much throughout the film in terms of physical performance, using his eyes and body to find emotion without dialogue.) Long, deliberately slow exchanges between Gawain and Arthur set the tone: This is not an action film. Arthur speaks to him of taking young Gawain for granted, and immediately Patel conveys depth with his striking eyes, relaying both the emotional pride that comes with finally feeling seen. After a brief opening scene with his lover ( Alicia Vikander) and mother, Gawain is off to a lavish Christmas banquet with the King and Queen, at which he is surprised to be asked to sit by their side. Sir Gawain (Dev Patel) is the nephew of King Arthur ( Sean Harris) and Queen Guinevere ( Kate Dickie), and the son of Morgan Le Fay ( Sarita Choudhury), accused by some in the village of witchcraft. More than any movie in a long time, I would have immediately watched it again, but it’s also a film that really strengthens in memory, swirling around your brain like the falling flakes of the opening scenes. It’s a film that embeds the concept of storytelling and performance into its narrative-whether it’s a King asking for a heroic tale or children watching a puppet show-while also weaving its own enchanting spell on audiences. Arthurian experts may quibble with some of Lowery’s decisions and it is certainly a film that challenges traditional expectations of stories about heroic knights for modern audiences, but fans will be drawn to this mesmerizing journey guided by Lowery’s incredibly poetic eye, career-best work from Dev Patel, and an artistic sensibility that transports audiences to another world. Lowery has adapted the 14 th century chivalric romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight into one of the most memorable films of the year, a fascinating swirl of masculinity, temptation, heroism, and religion. That feeling won't subside for over two hours. Immediately, you feel outside yourself, far from daily concerns, set for an experience that's unlike anything else in nearby theaters. Light snow, misty fog, and falling ash blend in the opening scenes of David Lowery’s magnificent “The Green Knight,” setting a surreal tone for what’s to come. You can feel the chill and smell the air.
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