The Northman
A haunting, homoerotic Shakespearean tragedy couched in the Viking era, that is as bloody as it is weird, beautiful and engaging.
When King Aurvandil (Ethan Hawke) is brutally murdered by his brother Fjolnir (Claes Bang) in a play for his kingdom, the young Prince Amleth (Oscar Novak as the young version, Alexander Skarsgard as the older) flees for his life. His mother Gudrun (Nicole Kidman) and usurper-uncle believe he is dead, and indeed he grows up letting them believe that; becoming a fearsome, mammoth warrior for another clan under an assumed identity. When he takes a village in the Birch Forest, however, a vision of a Seeress compels him to track down Fjolnir, and extract his revenge. Along for the ride is Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy), a young woman from the village whose allyship with Amleth eventually turns to love.
Directed by Robert Eggers, of The Lighthouse fame, The Northman sees another truly unique vision realized, albeit now with added budgetary boons. As a story, this closely mimics some of the plot threads of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, with a usurper uncle and an all consuming desire for revenge from the wronged heir (indeed, Amleth sounds quite a bit like Hamlet when spoken in the film). However, there’s just enough difference to make this feel unique, and to throw you off the scent a little bit.
Eggers vision is beautifully and wondrously weird at times, with gorgeous sequences showing off classic visual elements of Norse mythology. It can get odd, strange and confronting, and sequences where Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe bark rabidly at the younger Amleth, or where an old seer speaks through the skull of Dafoe’s court jester make you recoil almost as much as the most violent, bloody scenes in the film. Nevertheless, it’s this sense of out there visual identity, a sort of swing-for-the-fences mentality, that defines Eggers work, and this film; no punches are pulled, and that’s a good thing.
Skarsgard and Taylor-Joy are both endlessly watchable, with roles in this piece that give them a great deal of range to play with. Skarsgard’s hulking physique, and his switch between fearless warrior, rage-filled revengaholic, besotted man, and the mewling whimpering son of a spurning mother is effortless, and beautiful to behold. Taylor-Joy has less screen time, but makes an indelible impact, whether she is the conniving spy in Fjolnir’s camp or the heartbroken mother-to-be on a ship to England. The supporting cast is uniformly strong, with Claes Bang making a particularly stoic, regal impression as Fjolnir.
The Northman is the sort of swords and sandals epic we need for our time, and it’s interesting to reflect on the glut of quality historical content we’ve had access to of late. Between The Tragedy of Macbeth, The Green Knight and this film, one thing is clear; films of this ilk need space to breathe, need latitude to take mammoth creative leaps, need a clear tone, and most of all need to look breathtakingly beautiful and strange. The Northman is no different, and its’ gorgeous use of sets, both natural and man-made, is only one of the reasons you should seek this piece out.
