By Mitch Rice
Next time you go to the movies, consider The Northman, a movie the critics are raving about. Upon watching the trailer, it may appear that The Northman is a grizzly and brutal Viking action film. However, this movie offers so much more depth in its narrative as it subverts expectations to shape that of a suspenseful and artistic thriller that follows the story of one man’s interaction with fate.
Robert Eggers
Directed by Robert Eggers, The Northman encompasses his signature, mysterious and unique directing style. Eggers is known for filming stories where a part of the plot development is dedicated to shaping otherworldly and often uncanny story elements. For example, Eggers 2019 film The Lighthouse, starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, follows the lives of two lighthouse workers stranded at a lighthouse during a storm. As the two wait to be rescued, their sanity plummets, and they delve into madness. Eggers horrifyingly portrays this descent with unexplainable hallucinations and premonitions experienced by the two men.
Narrative Details
Throughout The Northman, the style of Eggers really presents itself as the main character Amleth, pursues his destiny, which was outlined to him by the Gods in a spiritual vision. Played brilliantly by Alexander Skarsgard, Amleth witnesses the murder of his father at the hands of his uncle when he was a child. He receives a vision of a path his life must take to avenge the life of his father.
Growing up in an extremely devout and spiritual household in ancient times, Amleth, through worship, has a close relationship with the Nordic Gods. It is through this relationship that the signature style of Eggers reveals itself as he depicts the other-worldly aspects of Nordic mythology.
As the story progresses, the audience hopes for Amleth to leave everything behind and escape his fate for a life of peace, settlement, and family. But we soon realize that Amleth may be bound to the fate prescribed to him by the Norse Gods and unable to escape it to become something more.
Artistic Directing Style
Throughout the duration of the film, Amleth experiences many spiritual visions, and the audience is left wondering if the sequences are real or just imagined by Amleth because of how artistically these scenes were portrayed.
To provide some timeline context, this movie is set at the very end of the 9th century in 895 AD, way before the 15th century when the card game baccarat was invented, and Europe was in the middle of the Renaissance.
The Northman’s runtime clocks in at 2 hours and 17 minutes. It is a long movie and, although Eggers uses the length to really flesh out aspects of the narrative’s mythology, The Northman’s length sometimes feels unnecessarily long.
Visually, The Northman is stunning. The cinematography used by Eggers to capture the landscape makes the film look ultra-real and brings the harshness and unforgivingness of the environment to life. Most of the filming was done in Northern Ireland for its rugged terrain and jagged mountain ranges. The combat sequences are also expertly choreographed and graphically violent, just a friendly warning before going to see this with the whole family.
Data and information are provided for informational purposes only, and are not intended for investment or other purposes.
