MOVIE REVIEW: "The Northman" Is Brutal, But Leaves Much To Be Desired From Director Robert Eggers
5/12 ForReel Score | 2/5 Stars
Robert Eggers has made his mark on the filmmaking industry. Having been impressed with his feature films The Witch and The Lighthouse, I certainly consider myself a fan of his work. Eggers’ sense of storytelling traditionally fosters a haunting and tantalizing nature to it. His films have garnered not only the attention of niche horror fans, but have even slowly crept their way into mainstream consciousness, with their ominous tone and striking finales becoming bona fide hallmarks of Eggers’ filmmaking style and riveting topics for conversation.
I say all of this to set the expectation for Eggers fans that in many ways, The Northman is a beast of a different nature, so to speak. Aesthetically, Eggers’ devotion to detailed world building is present. Narratively and thematically, however, Eggers’ grasp exceeds his reach with The Northman, where chilling, under-your-skin storytelling takes a back seat to visual appeal. Though the film narrowly avoids being a contrived blockbuster, it still is not refined enough to exhibit the kind of storytelling prowess that Eggers is capable of.
The Northman begins at a coastal village with the film’s main character, Amleth (Oscar Novek), as a young, coming of age boy aspiring to be like his brave, honor-driven father, King Aurvandill War-Raven (Ethan Hawke). But when Amleth witnesses the brutal betrayed and murdered of his father by Aurvandill’s brother, Fjölnir (Claes Bang), Amleth flees the overtaken kingdom, vowing to save his mother (played by Nicole Kidman), avenge his father, and kill Fjölnir. Years later as a grown man and trained warrior (played by Alexander Skarsgård), he pursues this vengeance. Posing as a slave, he returns to his community, which had been forced to take refuge on Icelandic hillsides in his absence. With the help of mystic powers and another slave in the settlement, Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy), he secretly terrorizes the village as he waits for the right opportunity to reveal his identity and kill his uncle.
As with Eggers’ previous two films, The Northman is a supremely immersive cinematic experience. However, the film suffers from perhaps being too big in scope. Eggers’ storytelling, after all, is best when it remains in one setting - The Witch primarily taking place around a remote family’s dwelling, and The Lighthouse on a small barren island. In line with this trend, The Northman is most engrossing when it’s sequences are settled in one place - whether that be in the opening act experiencing Amleth’s culture and coming-of-age rituals, or in the chapters where he has returned to the new settlement to terrorize it. Taking his journey from one place, to another, to another over indiscernible amounts of time trades Eggers' more keen sense of storytelling for convoluted meandering.
On a technical level, however, there’s much to appreciate about The Northman. Performances from its leading cast, including Skarsgård who wears an overexaggerated posture for much of the film, keep the film engaging, even when the motivations of these characters are less than compelling. And the camera work is noteworthy, offering a creative eye on scenes that include long takes and even a one-take style action sequence.
But is this why you showed up for The Northman? Is camerawork what you’re trying to pay attention to? Thought-provoking storylines? Did you come to experience the next step in the evolution of Eggers’ filmmaking? Probably not. While these things may inspire cinephiles to see Eggers’ new “The Insert-Relevant-Noun-Here” films, the target audience for The Northman is here simply for the promise of violence and viking antics, and to that end, mainstream viewers will most likely be content with what it has to offer. Combat is well choreographed and works in conjunction with longer takes. And action sequences are coated with a glossy video game-like sheen, often exhibiting RPG qualities.
All of this can work in the film's benefit or to its detriment, depending on who you ask. For me, The Northman - lavish as it might be with set designs, costume designs, and brutality - represents a step away from the type of filmmaking I appreciate from Eggers. There is an overt attempt here to regard this film as a summer blockbuster, but the blessings of a bigger budget for a bigger story come part and parcel with the curse of mass market appeasement. Is The Northman entertaining? For most, yes. But does it capture that tension and vexing dread and foreboding that Eggers has so masterfully honed in his work? Not often enough, rendering the journey of the Northman, in my humble opinion, unfortunately futile.
Acting and Casting - 2 | Visual Effects and Editing - 1 | Story and Message - 0 | Entertainment Value - 1 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 1 | Reviewer's Preference - 0 | What does this mean?