It's terribly sad to see comments that are taking the "story" for what it is worth at face value and outright dismissing the movie entirely

As loathe as I am to watch "arthouse" movies, this one certainly struck quite a few chords. The journey of the young, unsure, foolhardy knight and his misplaced sense of honor and the turn he takes into fully accepting his destiny was one I enjoyed very much. The visuals and the sounds did play a large part in it, completely selling the atmosphere of a magical kingdom with swathes of unknown and unexplored mystery. The performances, too, were excellent and Dev Patel was very convincing as Sir Gawain

I'm sorry to say but the story is very, very obvious. As with these "artsy fartsy" movies, the way it is told is what elevates it and here, I feel it was justified and used to great effect. Instead of giving us the straightforward story of Sir Gawain in the ballad, something that has been told for centuries (and something I looked up afterwards because I'm not British or European at all), this movie instead attempts to recontextualise and shroud the entire thing in an air of magic and I found myself enraptured by it

[spoiler] It's the classic tale of a straightforward story told in a convoluted way. As King Arthur says at the very beginning, it was always just a game. What mattered was the journey Gawain took that changed him into someone who would accept what was coming because of his honor. The fox and the mansion were distractions and tried to keep him from achieving his destiny. The sash, given by his mother and returned by the witch in the mansion, was to prevent him harm but it prevented it by making him a coward. What happens after the Knight swings his axe is just the future that awaits for him for his broken oath. He removes the sash, thus letting go of all fears and the Green Knight, satisfied with the man he sees before him, lets him go. The Green Knight was never truly harmed and there was never a reason to harm Gawain either [/spoiler]

I loved this movie. It blended the mystical and made for an enthralling journey through beautiful lands and forests and was something truly unique that I appreciate and left me wanting more

It’s time to play: Where Have I Seen This Story Before?

A bearded young man in old-timey times has a distant relationship with his kingly father figure, who expects great things of him. He’s in a state of arrested development and lives with his widowed mother, while his “official” father is never mentioned. The woman he has feelings for wears a lot of jingling bells; she’s a sex worker so they can never actually be together, as that would be bad for his image and the example he’s supposed to set. The young man has a terrible destiny thrust upon him: he must journey forth to die in a set time and place, and if he doesn’t accept that he will lose his integrity and betray the message of his “father” for his people.

[spoiler] For a week the young man suffers physically, mentally, and spiritually, as he struggles with temptation in the forms of sex, selfishness, violence, and talking animals giving him enigmatic messages. He arrives at the place of his doom, prepared to give up his life…then he says “fuck this” and escapes. We see him flee home and live out his life over decades, time skipping faster and faster in a montage. He takes up the adult responsibilities of his father’s business and tries to bury his sense of shame. He gets back with the sex worker but “loses” her when she gives birth. He marries another woman and has a child with her, even if she isn’t the love of his life. He grows old as his world falls apart. Before his delayed death, he is confronted with the knowledge that his weakness and refusal to fulfil his destiny destroyed his “father’s” promised kingdom. [/spoiler]

[spoiler] And then he snaps back to the moment before we saw him flee. This was all a vision of his future if he cowers from his sacrificial death. He submits to his execution and smiles as the movie ends. [/spoiler]

[spoiler] Although this protagonist survives, I think David Lowery owes Martin Scorsese and the estate of Nikos Kazantzakis some money. This was gorgeous to look at and listen to, Dev Patel was spectacular as usual, so two stars for that. You know what I don’t need in my Dark ‘n’ Gritty King Arthur movie? Semen! I had to endure that scene next to my dad! I’m an Arthurian Legend nerd who accepts all kinds of varying iterations of “The Matter of Britain”. But somehow this adaptation had thinner characterization, relationships, story structure, and motivation than the medieval poem, where Gawain wimping out from his quest, like Brave Sir Robin Who Had Nearly Stood Up to the Vicious Chicken of Bristol, is treated as a joke that everyone gets over. [/spoiler]

[spoiler] Speaking of Willem Dafoe movies, in the Year of Our Lord 2021, you can’t include a raspy-human-voiced fox in your film and expect me to take it seriously (and not whisper “chaos…reigns!”). [/spoiler]

After mulling it over, I've come to a conclusion about _The Green Knight_.

I'm greatly confused by this.

I'm not sure if it's because I haven't read the original text, because it's an arthouse film that is supposed to be slow and disjointed for realism's sake, or because of another reason. Regardless, I left the theater unsure of my feelings about this movie. I mean, we all know how it's going to end from the scene where Gawain strikes the Green Knight. We know his fate is sealed, so the question should be, "How does he come to terms with his destiny?"

This movie is supposed to be not only Sir Gawain's physical journey to face the Green Knight in the Green Chapel, but also his mental journey that will prepare him for the moment the two of them meet again. However, even with the conclusion we are given, I don't really see how Gawain earned his arc. This movie trades the coherent for the abstract, and while I certainly don't think it's a bad thing that it was basically him moving from setpiece to (seemingly unrelated) setpiece, I don't see how he grew as a character to reach the conclusion he reached. Maybe there was some symbolism I missed in this fever dream of a fantasy. Maybe I'd understand more upon a rewatch. Despite that, it's certainly an experience, a waking dream to behold, both beautiful and terrible.

Lots of potential washed down the drain with shitty writing.

Pros
+Great visuals
+Above average Dialogue
+Great acting
+Lots of imagination in the execution of everything makes it really feel like a cool fairy tale
+the first hour and a half of the movie is fairly solid, not perfect but it is entertaining and undeniably cool
+[spoiler]the cumshot scene is fucking hilarious and even though it shouldn't be in the story, it will be the one thing people remember about this movie and it will be the entire focus of every conversation about it.[/spoiler]

Cons
-The writing went off the rails after the first night he stayed in the castle [spoiler]the whole "fuck my wife and then fuck me" thing was an idiotic perversion of the actual tale. In the myth the whole awkward situation of the kisses and the garter is punished and justified in the final act. In this we get some bizarro shame based ending that made no sense in relation to the rest of the story. Instead of "Make sure to stay true to noble values and strive for perfection regardless of temptation/faults" it became "If you do some weird shit then you will feel bad about it for eternity and ruin your life so just die instead" [/spoiler] absolutely baffling how they threw away the framework for a good story to make this trash ending
-They pronounced Gawain like Gawen for some dumb fucking reason. Super annoying

_The Green Knight_ is an epic character study that takes it's time following the path of a man finding worth in his life, but that slow progression is also its downfall.

This movie was really gripping at first, I was invested in the first 30 minutes but that flow slowly starts to fade during the mid-section. At this point the scenes begin to drag a bit and the story jumps from one section to the next so quickly that it can be a bit disorienting as to where you are. Despite the slight pacing issues, this film is still a treat to watch.

The visuals and the atmosphere of this film is really well done, each scene felt perfectly crafted. The mix between CGI and practical affects are a real bright spot as today so many movies rely too much on the computerized effects. The tone had me completely captivated, as adventure unfolds there are many darks turns where our protagonist has to preserver to get to his objective. This perseverance is what evolves him as a character and is what enables him to be worthy of knighthood. I bought that evolution due to the fantastic job Dev Patel does in this film.

Patel encapsulates so much of what Gawain is, a reckless and immature child who has done nothing with his life. This causes a great deal of insecurity as he feels not worthy to be in the presence of his uncle, the king, even though he has royal blood. The sense of unsureness is carried throughout the film brilliantly by Patel, and it is not until the end where he truly becomes worthy for the crown. This performance is spectacular, and Dev Patel deserves all the accolades for this film.

Overall, _The Green Knight_ was a really interesting experience. Although it does not warrant its runtime and pacing could have been done better, it is still an excellent film that I enjoyed. Even after watching, the more research I do and more I think about it, the more it gets better due to the complex symbolism and presentation that does not make itself known on the first watch.

**Grade:** _83%_
**Verdict:** _Great_