CHENNAI: A fantastical folk tale in these bleak times is just what David Lowery’s drama “The Green Knight” offers. The film tells the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight — one of those innumerable tales based on King Arthur and his roundtable — and Lowery’s attempt to recreate a medieval episode of chivalry and romance is superbly appealing.
Lowery is no stranger to such intricate, involved and knotty subjects. In his latest outing, he combines the mystical with the magical in a narrative than sees British star Dev Patel play a knight in King Arthur’s court and the king’s (Sean Harris) nephew.
The director managed to get a marvelous performance out of Patel, who first won hearts for his lead role in 2008’s “Slumdog Millionaire.”
Shot in some of Ireland’s most stunning locations by cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo, and set to music by composer Daniel Hart, the movie gets all the magical, melodious ingredients to tell the story of Patel’s Sir Gawain, who is challenged by the Green Knight — half man and half tree — whose creaks and crackles are eerie, to say the least. When the Green Knight rides into King Arthur’s court, he brings an ominous tiding and challenges one of the knights to behead him. In return, he forecasts that the knight will be beheaded by next Christmas at the Green Chapel. When nobody steps forward, Gawain takes up the bet and decapitates the Green Night before riding out to face his fate.
The film tells the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight based on King Arthur and his roundtable. Supplied
Written, directed, edited and produced by Lowery, “The Green Knight” focuses on Gawain’s adventure-filled journey to the Green Chapel. Gawain’s path is filled with dream-like sequences and lush forests. He has strange encounters — a funny scavenger, played by Barry Keoghan, a mysterious young woman (Erin Kellyman) and a lord (Joel Edgerton). The travel languidly paced and structured with somber sparseness, perhaps taking us closest to the original 14th century tale, arguably the best known Arthurian romance, written in stanzas of alternative verse, drawing on Welsh, Irish and English stories couched in French chivalric tradition.
“The Green Knight” is not for the impatient, but for those who will find pleasure in a fine piece of measured narrative.
