The Northman [2022] [Region Free]

This is a review of the July 2022 All Region Blu-ray from Universal. It comes with plenty of extras, and a superb quality version of this expensive American film, with broad-based North European credentials.American director Robert Houston Eggers is emphatically a ‘Marmite’ director. Aged just 39, with a career in theatre direction and design, he has now directed three films. His second film, 2019’s ‘The Lighthouse’ was fêted, exceptionally stylistic and stylized, but not universally acclaimed. Personally, I detested it. My review (10 Nov 2020) summarised it as technically brilliant, but cliché-ridden and overblown. I suggested that Eggers tried to manipulate his audience, to shock.Here, to a degree, Eggers follows the self-same track. But whilst in 2019, he had a budget of $11 million, and a cast of 2, here he had something well north of $70 million and a stellar cast including Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgård, Björk and Ethan Hawke ~ and Willem Defoe again. In 2019, Eggers and his co-writer picked the pocket of Edgar Allan Poe and a very good BBC film from 2016. Here, he and his co-writer mine the Viking legend of Amleth, originally documented by Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus, writing in about 1200, which was the source of Shakespeare’s peerless tragedy ‘Hamlet, Prince of Denmark’.Apparently, Skarsgård had wanted to make a Viking film for some years, and discussed collaboration with Eggers. The project got off the ground fast, was filmed on location in both Northern Ireland and the Republic, and in Iceland, and premiered in Stockholm in March 2022.As with ‘The Lighthouse’, the film is a visual treat. The landscapes (and seascapes) used are fabulously wild and atmospheric. The feel for a world of the far away, in time and geography ~ it is set from AD895 ~ is powerful. The use of darkness, of fire, of lamplight, is exquisite. The main storyline is exciting, harrowing, and slightly familiar if you know your ‘Hamlet’. There is a great deal to enjoy. Some of the performances are really excellent.However, I am sure you can sense the ‘But’! Because there are several. Principally, again, Eggers manages style over substance. The Telegraph’s Robbie Collins describes the film as ‘never knowingly undercooked’. Yes, quite!Eggers gives many of his characters (notably Nicole Kidman) outrageous ‘Scandi’ accents. Why? Some are so broad as to be unintelligible. We know they were all talking various Norse languages and dialects, so leave well alone.There are various religious and quasi-religious rituals shown, and magical dabblings, some of which look like Viking by way of Sioux or Arapaho. How authentic is this aspect? I have no idea, but much of it felt manipulative. So did some of the very liberal violence and widely strewn body parts.There are some very derivative aspects too. Skarsgård’s Amreth has been likened to Conan the Barbarian. I found him neither likeable nor sympathetic, and in the end, downright foolish.My husband enjoyed ‘The Northman’ more than I did. Out of respect to him, I’ll award 4 Stars. I am not convinced.

Whilst some parts are odd and surreal, others are grand and beautiful, others gritty but intimate. It's a beautiful film and I would watch it again. I preferred 'The Witch' on first watch, but I will see how it sits with me on a rewatch.

A bit formulaic but fun to watch.

Great film

I liked it a lot but didn’t love it. I think I went into it expecting the crimson soaked experience of 300 but in a Norse setting. Maybe I’m getting desensitised to violence but it didn’t seem all that gory compared to what I had read about it.However it looks superb. The cast are all on their game. So it’s definitely worth a watch but I can’t imagine it will be for everyone.

The problem with this movie was its hype. It is a decent movie, that looks great, with it's own story to tell. But all that was damaged by not revealing in the build up to release, what it really was. It was instead implied that it would be just like all the other recent Viking offerings.This is far more akin to Valhalla rising, than any of the other Viking related series.It has that same weird vibe, where you find yourself thinking, yeah, this is how it really felt to be around at that time.And as much as I loved the Viking series, and others, they look very contrived and "pretty" compared to the blunt reality of this. However, like the lighthouse before it, the director cannot help going way over the top on rather silly fantasy, and this at points almost damages the reality. He should also think about not over using some actors. I love willam Dafoe, but this guy seems to worship him, and he has a thing about Anya Taylor Joy, who is a great actress but is so distinctive looking that she can seem too familiar in some roles. If I had known nothing about this, and just come across it, I would think I had found a memorable little viking tale well worth the watch. Instead I was kind of disappointed that is was not what I expected it to be. If the late great Vikings series had had a bit more of the harsh reality of this movie, it would have been even better than it was IMHO. But if you are fan of that series then you may find this hard going.

I sat down to watch it while eating my dinner thinking it would be some deep epic Hollywood kind of story in a vibe of the " Lord of the Rings". And very soon I realised it was a bad idea, when the scene of the ritual initiation made me feel sick from the moment they used some sort of hallucinogenic potion .That nouciousness continued till the very end thanks to vivid images of numerous chopped off heads, mutilated arms and noses, pulled out intestines , pierced hearts ripped of the chest and a general slaughter. I must say the vibe is more like "Beowulf & Grendal"... Deep, dirty, dark ,heavy, prime and unapologetically realistic. The plot is built around hatred and brutal revenge therefore pretty much every action is filled with pain and cruelty.Out of the positives... I heard before watching that costume was very consciously designed to be complimenting the historical accuracy.... I must say that part Is really impressive even thou it made the film less "spectacular" than for egz. "The Vikings". The detail of accessories, embroidery, use of fabric and weapon...they even tried to get Nicole Kidman to do some tablet weaving in order to make it even more "Norse"... very poor attempt tho...as she pretends to weave with her finger. (?) Nontherless very interesting approach with a mix of Earthly realism and vast support of supernatural spirit forces (Björk was really amazing ...just saying in case you are a fan...)Overall I give 4 stars for an interesting picture but it is unlikely I will willingly watch it again...