The Northman


By Graham Craycraft

The Northman is a 2022 Action-adventure movie set in the Viking world around the year 900 AD. From director of The Witch and The Lighthouse, Robert Eggers, we get this brutal, beautiful, and complex action movie. This is not a typical all war with a straightforward plot and a clear protagonist/antagonist. Eggers pulls you in different directions and shows that there is no heart all pure or all corrupt. We all carry in us the power and reality to do good and evil.

Alexander Skarsgard, the main character Amleth, had been hunting for a Viking role for some years now and Eggers fit the bill. Eggers cowrote this film with Sjón who recently also helped write Lamb with Valdimar Johannsson. This movie is a beast of an epic that has takes the audience on a journey with Amleth as he grows from a boy to a berserker Viking set to avenge his father’s death and save his mother. If you are familiar with Eggers work at all you will know him for a heavy use of supernatural and an emphasis on fate. The Northman is a perfect fit for this as it takes place within the realm of Norse mythology.

The cinematography, score, and supernatural scenes all come together to immerse the audience in the story so deep that you will literally feel as if you are part of this story happening right in front of your eyes. The acting by Skarsgard, Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, Willem Dafoe, and Ethan Hawke (just to name a few) is superb.

There are some overly cliché parts but they come and go so fast they will not weigh down the rest of the film which is wonderful. Norse mythology has become popularized largely due to the Marvel characters Thor, Loki, and Oden. This rich mythology is jam packed in this film and although you do not need to have a good background in Norse mythology, it does help with explanations and enjoyment of the film. I found myself smiling from ear to ear at little Norse mythology nuggets that made the experience really cool. However, after the movie I discussed with other friends that did not pick up on these nods to the mythos and they still loved the movie as much as I did.

This movie is filled with heart pounding battle scenes, intense religious experiences, and loaded with symbolic shots that Eggers is becoming famous for. Something worth significant note as well is that this movie had a budget of 70-90 million dollars which is a significant sum of money for this director and subject matter. So far the film has made back about half that amount. But, I find it almost impossible to believe the production company thought this movie had big enough protentional audience numbers to make back that money. I hope this is going in a direction where companies have such a deep desire to put out great art that they take a financial sacrifice, but can that be accurate? Seems doubtful.

 

Either way, give this movie a watch and let me know what you think!

94/100

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