Movie Review: The Northman (2022)

The Northman (2022) co-written and directed by Robert Eggers

In an early medieval Viking kingdom, King Aurvandil War-Raven (Ethan Hawke) returns from plundering to his wife Gudrun (Nicole Kidman) and their son Amleth (Oscar Novak). The celebration goes well, in typical Viking fashion. The next day, Aurvandil takes his son to prepare him for his future as a leader through a mystic underground ceremony. As they leave, Aurvandil is attacked by his brother Fjolnir (Claes Bang), who kills him, takes his wife, and tries to kill the boy. The child flees to the sea where he rows himself out, chanting that he will avenge his father, free his mother, and kill his uncle. The story jumps ahead to an adult Amleth (Alexander Skarsgard) who is a low level Viking warrior for another clan. They go on several raids. He's eventually captured and taken to Iceland and put into service as a slave...on his uncle's sheep farm! Uncle Fjolnir lost the family kingdom and fled with Gundrun. Amleth has a chance to enact his revenge but he must do it in the Viking way.

The movie captures the cultural life of Vikings from the tenth century. They strive for historically accurate costumes, customs, and buildings while incorporating Viking mythology and their fatalistic morality. The blend works surprisingly well, though director Eggers has had plenty of practice in his other films (like The VVitch and The Lighthouse) transporting viewers to very different times and places. This movie rips off the plot to Shakespeare's Hamlet but is much more brutal and fatalistic. The characters talk about their fates and how they can't avoid them. Amleth is so tied to killing his uncle at a burning lake (he had a vision) that he cannot draw his sword on Fjolnir before the appointed time--it won't even come out of the scabbard! There's plenty of other blood-soaked mayhem as the story proceeds. The attention to detail is shared by the production and the actors, who give very believable performances. Watching the film feels like jumping into the Viking world. I found it very fascinating even though the characters were not quite as sympathetic as I would have liked. The movie is both impressively grounded and amazingly surreal. I liked this better than The Lighthouse but I still think The VVitch is my favorite film by Eggers so far.

Recommended.