Watch The Green Knight

In the epic fantasy adventure film The Green Knight, directed by David Lowery, Dev Patel stars as Sir Gawain, a young and reckless knight who embarks on a perilous journey to confront the eponymous Green Knight, played by Ralph Ineson. The film is an adaptation of the famous medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and is set in the supernatural world of Arthurian legends.

The film takes place in a murky and ominous medieval England, where the young and inexperienced Gawain is invited to King Arthur's (Sean Harris) court on Christmas Day. Arthur’s Queen, played by Kate Dickie, discovers that Gawain is the son of her estranged sister, and she places a green sash upon him, reminding him of the solemn promise he made to her, to face the Green Knight who mysteriously appears at the court. The Green Knight, towering and imposing, challenges the court to a game of beheading, where he offers up his own neck for any knight to strike him with an axe, and in a year and a day, he will pay back the deed. Gawain, eager to prove his worth, chops off the Green Knight's head. To his horror, the Green Knight picks up his head, and before riding away, reminds Gawain of his promise.

Gawain embarks on a spiritual journey to find and face the Green Knight to fulfill the promise he made a year and a day ago. The quest for Gawain is not only a physical journey but also an inner journey that tests his courage, honesty, and integrity. Along the way, he encounters talking foxes, giants, bandits, and ghosts. He also meets a mysterious and beautiful Lady (Alicia Vikander), who seduces him and tries to lure him away from his quest.

Joel Edgerton plays the Lord whose castle Gawain stumbles upon, who offers to take care of him and protect him from the dangerous journey ahead. The Lord challenges Gawain to a game of exchanging the daily spoils of the day at the castle until Gawain is forced to give up the green sash that Queen Guinevere gave him as a talisman to protect him from harm. The Lord reveals his treachery, revealing that he is none other than the Green Knight. The Green Knight tells Gawain that he has failed the test and delivers a blow to his neck, leaving Gawain bleeding and unconscious. Gawain awakens outside the castle, and the Green Knight has not delivered the fatal blow promised.

The Green Knight is a visually stunning and thought-provoking film that explores themes of temptation, honor, friendship, and mortality. It is a cerebral journey that demands attention from its viewers, and it is a significant departure from typical medieval fantasy adaptations. The film is dripping with symbolism, and its visuals are simply breathtaking. The performances are top-notch, with Patel giving a nuanced and layered performance as Gawain, torn between his desire to live up to his knightly values and his fear of death.

In conclusion, the Green Knight is a magnificent and haunting film that will stay with you long after the credits roll. It is a meditation on ambition, mortality, and the human condition, and one that demands the audience meet it with open minds and hearts. It is a must-watch film for anyone interested in the intersection of medieval mythology and modern cinema. The Green Knight is a masterpiece that will no doubt, stand the test of time.

The Green Knight is a 2021 adventure movie with a runtime of 2 hours and 5 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 6.6 and a MetaScore of 85.