Review: The Northman

Image courtesy of Focus Features.

 

Imagine "Hamlet" filtered through early 1980s heavy metal and you'll get a sense of what to expect from Robert Eggers' grim, often masterfully shot and somewhat thematically simplistic "The Northman," which is apparently based on a folk tale that went on to inspire the Bard's most famous play.

With just three films, Eggers has proven himself to be a meticulous researcher whose exacting period horror films included semi-realist stories with psychotronic imagery. His latest, while arguably his most accessible, is his least inventive, although that doesn't mean audiences won't get a fair amount of mileage from its unyielding batshit craziness.

Death doesn't just stalk the film's characters - it's ever-present, whether we're talking about the ridiculous amount of beheadings that take place throughout the picture, noses being bitten off, the unrepentant slaughter of women and children and even a nude fight to the death on an active volcano. Loud grunting among the film's viking warriors punctuate the nonstop carnage.

Eggers' first picture was the creepy colonial folk tale "The Witch," while his second - and my favorite of the three films - was the trippy 19th century freakout "The Lighthouse," which was complete with cinema's most absurd masturbation scene and a Promethean ending. 

His latest is to be admired for the sheer artistry involved. Despite all of the grime and gore, "The Northman" is often gorgeous to look at, from the transfixing rite of passage between the doomed king (Ethan Hawke) and his young son (portrayed by Oscar Novak) with a sorcerer (Willem Dafoe) to the rolling hills where the second half's action primarily takes place.

In the film, young Amleth observes his father, King Aurvandil, being killed by his uncle, Fjolnir (Claes Bang), and his mother, Queen Gudrun (Nicole Kidman), being carried off by the traitor. Amleth vows revenge - in fact, he repeats over and over, "I will avenge you father, I will save you mother, I will kill Fjolnir."

Some years later, Amleth (now played by Alexander Skarsgard) is a brutal warrior traveling with a pack of vikings who loot and plunder villages with no mind for the collateral damage involved. When he gets wind that Fjolinr lost his kingdom to another ruler, and that he has relocated with his family and servants to a nearby area, Amleth decides to pay a visit and, well, kill everyone.

In the process, he meets a female slave named Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy) who appears to be some sort of seer - another visit with such a type during the film is memorable in that it involves the first onscreen appearance by the singer Bjork in some time. The two become partners in a plot to escape, but they first hatch a plan to be taken on as slaves to Fjolinr, who doesn't recognize his beefed up nephew.

If you're aware of the story of "Hamlet," then you have a pretty good idea where this is all going, despite the bludgeoning factor being turned up to 11 in this particular telling of the tale. It's a little difficult to judge the performances because, at least in the case of Skarsgard's character, there's little in the way of emoting. Men grunt and shout ritualistic chants as they amp themselves up for battle. Other characters speak more cryptically. During a father-son ritual early in the picture, the means of communication are farting and burping.

But what "The Northman" might lack in storytelling and character development, it nearly makes up for in aesthetically impressive brute force and astounding visuals. The film might be my least favorite of Eggers' three feature films thus far, but it's still pretty engrossing. And while it may not be the most introspective version of "Hamlet," it's certainly the most berserk.