The Green Knight (2021)

(Amazon Streaming, April 2022) I don’t particularly like The Green Knight, but I like what it’s trying to do. That isn’t a paradox: I don’t have any specific fondness for Arthurian legends, I don’t care all that much about gritty fantasy, and I can think of plenty of more interesting genres than oneiric fantasy. On the other hand, I am supportive, almost by default, of any film that doesn’t go for the post-Lord of the Rings paradigm of fantasy films. Writer-director David Lowery does have a short but interesting career so far, with films spanning everything from family fare (Pete’s Dragon) to gentle thriller (The Old Man and the Gun) to more esoteric material (A Ghost Story). The Green Knight is closer to that last film, with enigmatic material, elliptic sequences, an unclear delineation between reality and fantasy, and a refusal to play the material like most other films. It’s bold enough to portray the protagonist’s death before literally changing direction and showing up how he avoids it. It gets gross with bodily fluids, presents a vision of medieval life that’s gritty to the point of unpleasantness, questions heroism and finally cuts right before either triumph or tragedy. There isn’t another film quite like The Green Knight, and that’s a good thing regardless or whether I enjoyed the (overlong, obtuse, ornery) result. What it boils down to is: This is a very A24 production, and it’s going to make some people really happy and others really angry and others kind of appreciative even if they recognize it’s not for them. The surest way to recognize a jaded movie reviewer is to ask them whether they prefer slick-but-familiar fare, or unsuccessful-but-audacious material. Anyone who answers the later will find much to admire (but not necessarily like) in The Green Knight.