Cinephile No. 961 “The Northman”
Recommendation: 4/5 SHOWTIME
Plot: “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.” -IMDB
Review: In college, I took several electives to satisfy the required number of credit hours needed to graduate. One of those classes was “Dance Through the Decades,” but based on my experience watching The Northman, I should have spent some time studying Norse Mythology. For me, the more head-scratching aspects of this revenge tale stem from a lack of understanding about mythology, the existence of other religions in the first millennia following the death/resurrection of Christ, and Icelandic history. If you can promise yourself to enjoy this film for what it is and do some research after the credits have rolled, there remains a lot to like about this story.
At its core, this movie is a revenge story. After returning from battle, King Aurvandil War-Raven (Ethan Hawke) arrives home to his queen, Queen Gudrun (Nicole Kidman) and his young son, Amleth (Oscar Novak). Knowing or wishing for his death to be found on the battlefield, the king decides it is time for young Amleth to begin his journey into adulthood and learn what is necessary to hold the throne.
After the ritual, in a moment of betrayal that will leave many viewers pining for the glory days of Game of Thrones, King War-Raven falls with his son by his side. Betrayed by his brother, Fjolnir, The Brotherless (Claes Bang), Amleth flees to the sea. Rowing as quickly as his little arms can muster, he repeats lines of revenge which will become destiny.
In the film’s second act, we meet a grown Amleth (Alexander Skarsgard). Banded together with a pack of opportunists, this film displays a sense of obscene violence that will leave many viewers with eyes averted from the screen. As hard as these scenes are to watch, they paint a picture of a man fully consumed by beastly revenge and a hatred focused on one man.
When a window opens to once again draw closer to his uncle and, perhaps, find his mother, Amleth takes it. To do this, the prince must resign himself to slavery. Luckily, the years have aged him, making him unrecognizable to his mother and uncle (who are now married). Yeah, there is a lot of family drama going on here.
In the village of his uncle, Amleth sees that his mother lives. This is all the proof he needs to unleash a hellish plan to exact revenge. Beautifully and diabolically, the nightmare begins with the passing of a sword and an uprising that left me on the edge of my seat.
But this film leaves one last revelation that left me breathless. I will not spoil it here, but it changes the entire dynamic of the film. It also leaves Amleth questioning a decision between his new family or fate. Of course, I will not spoil that choice either.
The Northman is violent. The environment and landscapes are characters, just as important as any person appearing on screen. It gets weighed down in mythology that few of us know or understand. If you can ignore this, it remains an epic revenge flick that felt brutal, crushing, and visually stunning. I recommend giving it a chance, but I warn you it is not for the faint of heart.
Be good to each other,
Nathan
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