The Northman

UK Release Date: 15 April 2022

Certification: 15

Director: Robert Eggers

Cast: Claes Bang, Willem Dafoe, Ethan Hawke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman, Gustav Lindh, Alexander Skarsgård

Rating: 79%

"I will avenge you, Father! I will save you, Mother! I will kill you, Fjölnir!"

Review:

The Northman is acclaimed director Robert Eggers' third feature film and it lives up to the hype. A Viking story unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's visually stunning, has a boisterous score and some superb performances. 

I hadn't seen a Robert Eggers film before The Northman so the first half an hour was just bizarre and it did take me a while to acclimatise to what exactly I was watching. There were naked men, people pretending to be dogs and fantastical elements. 

Alexander Skarsgård's pivotal performance as Prince Amleth is the centre point of the movie's success. His arc is really great and kept me captivated from start to finish. From a boy who is hell-bent on revenge to an older brute who discovers love. Although his performance is outdone by Anya Taylor-Joy's. She just chews the scenery in every scene as Olga of the Birch Forest, clearly getting to flex her acting chops and firmly establishing herself as one of the most in demand actresses in Hollywood. Claes Bang plays the menacing character, Fjölnir, although to me it felt like his presence diminished in the second act of the film. Nicole Kidman is also strong in the movie but I really felt like I needed more screen time from Willem Dafoe and Ethan Hawke. However despite the superb performances none of the characters are particularly relatable making it quite difficult to gravitate towards anybody.  

The only other real complaint I had was that the first action scene was too good. Occurring roughly forty minutes into the film, Amleth and his tribe attack a nearby village, leaving no survivors whatsoever. It's brutal and gruesome showing the audience absolutely every detail with some impressive camera work. However, following this scene nothing lives up to that set-piece - including the final confrontation between Amlefth and Fjölnir. 

Shot entirely in Iceland, the film is a visual masterpiece. Cinematographer, Jarin Blaschke, and Robert Eggers combine brilliantly using the experience they had gained from working with A24 to produce some stunning shots. One of the best looking movies I've seen in a really long time.