An excellent film that overcomes a hurdle that no other historical epic I'm aware of has managed, which is to find a unified style of acting which matches the intensity of the action. The obvious comparison is with THE VIKINGS, Richard Fleischer's grim 1958 effort; take any scene between any three actors, and they all might as well have been in different films. Robert Eggers, however, gets thrilling, gigantic performances from everyone in his cast, including some unlikely scenery-chewers such as Ethan Hawke and Nicole Kidman. What Eggers has realised is that to be in the same film as the fights and the scenery and the mythology, the actors have to give as much size to their characters as those other elements in order to be remotely believable. Full marks to the whole cast, but especially Alexander Skarsgård, who bears the brunt of the story on his broad shoulders.
Eggers' other triumph is that the point of view of his film is that of his characters. Because they are committed in such a big, emotional way to the rituals and visions and moral code, we are too. We might be repelled by it, but the world that is conjured up is so completely lived in that it's immersive for us. That's assuming it's seen at the cinema on a big screen -- a must for this film. It's completely pointless seeing it on your phone.
I read somewhere that Eggers is claiming that the film is some kind of critique of what is now being called toxic masculinity. If that is what he thinks, he's deluding himself. If THE NORTHMAN ends up with wannabe fascists drooling over it and using the hero Amleth as a role model, Eggers can hardly be surprised. I doubt whether the fate to which the character entruists himself will cause such people a moment's pause. Eggers and his team have made a brutally powerful, mythic movie.
Eggers' other triumph is that the point of view of his film is that of his characters. Because they are committed in such a big, emotional way to the rituals and visions and moral code, we are too. We might be repelled by it, but the world that is conjured up is so completely lived in that it's immersive for us. That's assuming it's seen at the cinema on a big screen -- a must for this film. It's completely pointless seeing it on your phone.
I read somewhere that Eggers is claiming that the film is some kind of critique of what is now being called toxic masculinity. If that is what he thinks, he's deluding himself. If THE NORTHMAN ends up with wannabe fascists drooling over it and using the hero Amleth as a role model, Eggers can hardly be surprised. I doubt whether the fate to which the character entruists himself will cause such people a moment's pause. Eggers and his team have made a brutally powerful, mythic movie.