Dripping in mysticism and fable. The Green Knight served up an experience that resonated with me about a man becoming of age and going through the trials and tribulations for one thing and one thing only…. Honor. From a visionary director, powerful performer and the innovative studio comes a medieval classic that is sure to not be forgotten.

This tale adapted from the legendary chivalric poem of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight is brought up in a whole new light as, the film feels focused but has a sense of freeness to it that I very much enjoyed as a viewer. This was one of my most anticipated movies of the year and I am glad to say that for me as a viewer it delivered everything I wanted and more. Its aimless yet focused direction added to investment of the (hero), or more so (anti-hero). I enjoyed the way it took its time to have us understand the character, while still giving us familiar iconography everyone is familiar with in the lore of king Arthur. However the film despite it’s history does a great job of telling you what you need to understand and then setting you on your way not knowing what to expect similar to our main character. The writing was impeccable and had an old English Shakespearean quality to it. The world building and visuals were well thought out. The performances were strong throughout and fit the tone of the film. The ending was absolutely marvelous and It made me love the film even more.

David Lowery’s (A Ghost Story, Pete’s Dragon) direction here is absolutely superb, his mastery of the craft only seems to get better as with this film he lets us enjoy the imagery of his world even taking time out of the film to let you sit in it with his characters, what could’ve been a bland story turned into a beautiful thoughtful character piece wound together by an amazing storyteller and his crew. Dev Patel (Lion, Slumdog Millionaire) graces us with a reminder of why he’s on of the best actors working today with his performance of the insecure, fearful yet courageously sympathetic titular character. In this picture Patel paints a glorious picture of coming of age in a way we’ve never seen. He reminds us why we love him as an actor and gives an award-worthy performance as this character. Another character I enjoyed was the green Knight himself played mysteriously by Ralph Ineson (The Witch, The Boy) who although didn’t have a whole lot of screen time still was very effective and absolutely magnifies the engagement of every scene he’s in. It also helps that the films production design, make-up and special effects teams were all on par with why the film looked and felt the way it did. The film has it moments where things do get a bit slow and take sometime but those moments were rare and far between the great ones that shine brighter.

The story pays dividends as we get a amazing characters, an intriguing world set in fantastical realism that makes this stand out amongst many Arthurian adaptations like it. I loved this movie! And highly recommend it to those who haven’t seen it. Let me know your thoughts on the film.