Almost Too Over the Top to Be Truly Enjoyed
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MOVIE REVIEW
The Northman
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Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Year Released: 2022
Runtime: 2h 16m
Director(s): Robert Eggers
Writer(s): Sjón, Robert Eggers
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Ethan Hawke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Gustav Lindh, Elliott Rose, Willem Dafoe
Where To Watch: In theaters nationwide now
Let me start by praising director Robert Eggers; he’s a visionary in cinematography and proves this for a third time with a film that is possibly more visually appealing than anything else we see in the movie. Eggers's relatively short filmography consists of one of my favorite films I’ve seen in the last decade, THE VVITCH, and one of my least favorites, THE LIGHTHOUSE. Without a doubt, THE NORTHMAN falls somewhere in between, closer to my appreciation for THE VVITCH. That’s not to say that it was a poor film; it just had some issues that I couldn’t overlook easily.
As I mentioned previously, this was a beautiful film, and there’s no doubt about that. I was lucky enough to see it on the big screen, and if you’re going to watch it, I would highly recommend that experience if you’re able to do so. Ultimately, this isn’t the genre for me; it’s maybe not fair that I hold that against the film, but film is subjective, as I’ve mentioned before. Just as I can appreciate a Rob Zombie-directed horror film, others are appalled by the blood, gore, and language. The medieval/Viking/Norseman style films just generally don’t do it for me, especially when they are heavily dialogue-driven such as this was.
Overall, the film's story was pretty universal “revenge” is a powerful message throughout, and you genuinely feel it while watching it. Ironically if you know who Oscar Novak is or his previous role in a big film this year, you’ll understand the irony. “I’m Vengence.”
It was fun to see Nicole Kidman in a movie following her now longrunning introduction at AMC theaters “where stories feel perfect and powerful, because… here they are.” I hadn’t seen BEING THE RICARDOS or THE PROM in theaters, so this was my first experience with that weird little quirk.
SPOILERS:
One of the inexcusable moments in the film for me happened in the cave when they were farting and belching. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t doubt the authenticity (entirely), but I feel like that scene was wholly out of place for a film that took itself as seriously as this one. There was a moment earlier where Hawke broke “character” to hug his son, and I felt that was 100% okay; that made him more human.
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It was OK. When I wasn’t dozing off, I caught some good scenes, but overall this movie couldn’t capture my attention.
Another one I really didn’t enjoy
I was not a fan of The VVItch or Lighthouse but I really enjoyed this movie. He had that dog in him. A nice dark twist on a revenge movie with Vikings and a fraking fight on a volcano