The Northman (2022)
Rating: R
My Review: 4/5
Genre: Thriller/Adventure
Run time: 2hr 17 min
*Spoiler Free*
So The Northman (2022) is basically Hamlet with less clothing and more hallucinations. Oh, and uh with incest or whatever. Aaaanyway, The Northman tells the ancient Scandinavian legend of Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård), and his journey to avenge his father, King Aurvandil, (Ethan Hawke) after he was murdered by his uncle Fjölnir (Claes Bang). Along the way he meets a witch named Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy) and comes face to face with his mother (Nicole Kidman).
Hands down, the casting choices were phenomenal. I love all of these actors and even the director, Robert Eggers has a soft spot in my heart. Eggers previously directed one of my favorite movies, The Witch (starring Taylor-Joy). The Witch is what a slow burn in the horror genre should always be, with the added bonus of a phenomenally eerie atmosphere.
The Northman, however, is a much larger film with a budget of around $90 million compared to The Witch that only had a $4 million budget. The Northman failed to recoup even half of that at the box office. Marking it as Eggers biggest failure? All this is to say that it’s clear to me that with a bigger budget comes bigger responsibilities; to the producers and the studio especially. Perhaps Eggers now has less creative say in the final product. Perhaps there were more cuts as a result and it impacted the meat of the film.
Who knows? Not me. But what I do know is this film lacks heart. It’s a beautiful cinematic experience, with almost trancelike shots. Who can forget the iconic moment from the trailer when Amleth is being taken by a valkyrae through the sky?? I mean, hello, that was insanely beautiful. But, for me the romance elements didn’t work and Skarsgard gave a flat performance. To be fair though, I’m not sure how much more dimension you can bring to a grunting viking who is meant to be brooding 24/7.
Then there is the play-like dialogue, which is again understandable given the source material. But, it felt wooden to me. I love Eggers so I was surprised to feel so disconnected from his characters when that’s usually the best part of his work. However, what the film lacks in character it makes up for in action. The fight scenes are brutal and engrossing. I’m not usually a fan of gore, but I felt that it added to the story of how far gone Amleth is and how much he has truly been taken over by his need for revenge.
The Northman overall isn’t a bad film. I enjoyed a lot of it and found myself pausing to admire shots. Would I watch it again? Yeah, definitely. After finishing the first watch through with my family and friends we discussed how some scenes are ambiguous and make you question whether what you are seeing is reality. I loved that choice. As to why more people didn’t go to see this film in theaters, I have to wonder if it had something to do with COVID-19 or simply not enough promotion. Crazy, to me. I hope, though, that this means Eggers will return to smaller films because I think that’s where his talent truly lies.
Cast:
Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård)
King Aurvandil (Ethan Hawke)
Fjölnir (Claes Bang)
Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy)
Queen Gudrún (Nicole Kidman)
Director: Robert Eggers