The Green Knight Review

The Green Knight

Dir: David Lowery

Starring: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie, Barry Keoghan, Erin Kellyman, and Ralph Ineson

2h 5m

 

In the early moments of director David Lowery's enthralling and visionary "The Green Knight," the words "filmed adaptation of the chivalric romance by anonymous" introduces the viewer to this Arthurian coming-of-age story. The legend of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is an influential work of English literature, a 14th-century tale about morality, nobility, fate, hope, salvation, vanity, and many more themes that have been studied and debated about by scholars. 

 

The brilliance of David Lowery's vision, perhaps better to call it a hallucination, for "The Green Knight" is that the film isn't interested in finding understanding. It never positions itself for easy answers but instead lavishes in the knots it finds while unraveling the quest from the Round Table into the forest citadel. It has everything that current times have instilled into stories of knights in shining armor, adventure, danger, monsters, witches, spirits, and bloodshed. But "The Green Knight" never feels modernized; instead, there is no effort to update the language or repurpose the legend to fit a comfortable popcorn movie style. "The Green Knight" casts a spell of storytelling, an absorbing and visually beguiling tale. 

 

A gloomy and dank village, seemingly shrouded in a layer of fog, is home to an aged and sickly King Arthur (Sean Harris). Gawain (Dev Patel) is the arrogant nephew of Arthur; his mother (Sarita Choudhury) is a powerful sorceress. Gawain lacks ambition, spending most of his time passed out in a brothel while seeking the attention of Essel (Alicia Vikander). But Gawain wants to be a knight, seated at the Round Table of King Arthur, praised and adored for his heroism.

 

The Green Knight (voiced by Ralph Ineson) rides into the Round Table chambers; the monster looks made of ancient wood and carries a green ax. He offers a challenge to any knight brave enough to land one single blow against him. Gawain, seeing a chance to prove himself, jumps, sword in hand, at the opportunity. The Green Knight does not fight; instead, he offers himself to the attack. Gawain, startled for a moment, strikes the Green Knight, cutting his head off. Gawain, being cheered by the other knights is proud, until the Green Knight reawakens, picks his head up, and rides off with a laugh, knowing that Gawain must meet him in one year to face the same challenge. 

 

David Lowery is in complete control of the vision for this Arthurian adventure tale, character fable, artistic metaphor. The film is paced methodically. "Slow burn" might be an accurate description for some viewers looking for more swashbuckling and swordplay. However, some will relish the visual gracefulness that engulfs nearly every scene of this film. Lowery interplays literal and metaphorical themes on life and death, nobility and cowardice, humbleness and vanity. The composition of nature, both in the overgrown and dying landscapes, the densely consuming and light scattering fog, all serves as some variation of meaning to the journey of Gawain. The folly of man, the seduction of glory, the demise of the world, and so forth. "The Green Knight" has much to say. 

 

Dev Patel is excellent, a career-best performance. The naïve, almost teenage-like arrogance of Gawain plays nicely as the stakes grow closer to the request Gawain must honor, one that displays the character's spinelessness and selfishness. Patel, with his heroic good looks and likable swagger, plays the deeply flawed Gawain impeccably. Add Alicia Vikander in a subtle yet essential role, Joel Edgerton as a harbinger of mortality, and Barry Keoghan as an extended version of Gawain. The cast makes the visionary quest all the more appealing. 

 

"The Green Knight" is complicated yet utterly beautiful cinema. An allegory comes to life with impressive performances and confident direction from David Lowery. 

 

Monte's Rating

4.50 out of 5.00

 

Ex Machina Review

Ex Machina

Dir: Alex Garland

Starring: Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, and Alicia Vikander

108 Minutes

Rated R

Ava is a robot with exceptional artificial intelligence. She is beautiful, intelligent, emotional, affected, and curious. She is also the trapped subject of scientific analysis, the caged bird that when released will change everything about the world that we know. Good science fiction always asks difficult questions, most of the time without an easy to explain answer. While the structure of science fiction films can become overwhelmed by special effects and unnecessary spectacle, these films are still completely amusing in ways that similar films, like action films, are not. It’s the fascination with theory and how well a sci-fi film can support a hypothesis. Director Alex Garland builds a methodical structure with an intelligent narrative, one that focuses on relationships between men and women, the advancing world and how it connects with progressing technology, and the trappings and limitations of science. “Ex Machina” is a welcome addition to the list of exceptional science fiction films.

Nathan (Oscar Isaac) is a reclusive mogul who invented the world’s foremost search engine. Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) is a programmer who wins an invitation to meet and work with Nathan on his private research compound. After being dropped off by a helicopter and venturing through a forest, Caleb arrives at a door and is greeted by a computer. Once inside Caleb meets with the egocentric Nathan who discusses all aspects of science, religion, and art with Caleb. These discussions are all in preparation for Caleb to meet Ava (Alicia Vikander), a robot whose fabricated skeleton is accommodated by a human face. Caleb is to conduct a test to determine whether he can identify Ava as a computer. Ava is intrigued by the new visitor and begins to conduct her own tests on Caleb.

Alex Garland wrote and directed the film; his measured pacing in the script shapes and molds some great scenes of tension but also surprisingly some touching emotional moments. The characters are constantly changing, affected by the people and situations around them. Whether Ava who continually learns and adapts, Caleb who is pulled into different allegiances, or Nathan who is constantly embattled by his own intelligence and isolation, Garland exhibits a keen eye for character development and utilizes all these elements to make the narrative mysterious, suspenseful, sad, and insightful. Garland also uses the characters to to ask important questions that add depth to the story but are also simply offered to spark the viewers own reasoning. It's what good writing should do.

While the film doesn’t lean on special effects, it does utilize it in nearly every scene with Ava. The composition of her robot and human attributes are outstandingly rendered and intricately constructed, this deign is also used to provide depth to the character. Ava’s body is fashioned with a metallic mesh but her face, hands, and feet are covered with skin. This allows the character to portray emotion through her face, express feelings of anger and tenderness with her hands, and show direction and motivation with her feet. It’s a well-conceived design that contributes to the ambiguous objectives that Ava presents as the film progresses.  Actress Alicia Vikander gives a confident and sensitive portrayal as Ava, a true breakout performance.

Oscar Isaac is terrific as the ego-driven inventor Nathan, who is always gleefully a step ahead of everyone. Isaac does the best work when Nathan’s weaknesses overcome him, moments that lead to dancing and intellectual sparing matches with Caleb and sometimes himself. Domhnall Gleeson is also good as Caleb. Whether his fanboy-like admiration of Nathan or his easily manipulated emotional attachment to Ava, Gleeson does a great job of transitioning from susceptibly trusting to questioningly suspicious. 

Alex Garland, who started his career as a novelist and screenwriter, makes an impressive directorial debut.  “Ex Machina” is an exceptional film on many levels, but perhaps the most admirable quality exists in the questions it proposes and the answers it allows the viewer to contemplate.

Monte’s Rating

4.50 out of 5.00