OUT NOW: The Northman

When King Aurvandill (Ethan Hawke) is murdered by his half-brother Fjölnir (Claes Bang), his son Amleth dedicates his life to avenging his death and rescuing his mother, Gudrún (Nicole Kidman).

In order to reach his target, Amleth disguises himself as a slave on a ship to Iceland. Onboard, Amleth finds an ally in the witch Olga (Anya Taylor Joy).

Once in Iceland, Amleth sets about executing his plan…

I cannot figure Robert Eggers out. I think he has a memorable vision but I am not sure there is anything underneath it.

The Witch was interesting but it felt a little more sizzle than steak (the ending felt like the start of a more intriguing movie). I loved The Lighthouse but it just seems to be a movie about two people who are frustrated they can’t find privacy to masturbate.

For its first two thirds, I felt that same hollowness with The Northman. The movie starts out as a revenge story, as Skarsgård goes on the hunt for his uncle and mother.

So far, so familiar.

Elements of the film are reminiscent of Conan the Barbarian, The 13th Warrior and even The Revenant.

For the first half, I was a little disconnected - the camera always feels at a remove from the action. The movie feels cold and a little inert.

But as the movie goes on, that distance feels more appropriate.

When Skarsgård is on the cusp of achieving his objective, new context throws our understanding events into a new light.

This ultimately a story about cycles of violence, of broken men making more broken men, unable to break out of the loop.

Are Amleth’s visions of the supernatural from the gods, or the trauma of a young boy’s attempt to protect himself and justify his life.

As a story, The Northman is familiar stuff - on one level, it is just a Dark Age version of Commando - Skarsgård has a clear objective and spends the movie killing his way to his goal.

The most interesting aspect of the movie is the revelations during the third act. 

Egger's previous work has dealt with repressive masculinity, or at least had it embedded as part of the world. Maybe it is because of the familiar story beats, but The Northman feels like the most successful execution of that idea.

Because of its narrative simplicity, this might be the most successful of Eggers’ films. It is too long, and some of its symbolism feels too literal, but by the end of the movie I could mostly forgive it.