The Northman review: Bloody Vikings

The Northman is the latest movie from director Robert Eggars who also cowrote it with Sjón. It’s a beast of a movie that I absolutely loved. That said, I don’t think it’s been correctly marketed, sadly. I mean, the movie is sitting on a brilliant 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it deserves it. However, it’s not quite the ‘Gladiator’ of our times, and that is a very good thing indeed.

The Northman is based on the legend of Amleth, which Hamlet is also based on. Let’s put it this way, you don’t want to be a dad or king in this story, you won’t live long.

Alexander Skarsgård, who plays Amleth is brilliant in his role as lost and rage-filled avenger. He’s shown that he can get pumped up in roles like Tarzan, but he’s a monster in Northman. He’s a frigging beast! As he should be, his character is raised as a berserker Viking after his uncle (Claes Bang) kills King Aurvandill War-Raven (Ethan Hawke). That kind of revenge is going to need big muscles, not big brains. That said, there is a level of trickery and deviousness in the story that involves magic mushrooms and freaking out dogs.

I was also really impressed with Willem Dafoe. He plays Heimir the Fool, and to be honest, I barely recognised him. He suits the role perfectly, of course, with his manic facial gestures. It would have been nice if we got more screen time from him as he’s just so good in eve

North Lasses

Joining the lads are Anya Taylor-Joy, as Olga of the Birch Forest and Nicole Kidman as Queen Gudrún, Amleth’s mother. Anya is perfect as a pale, viking woman swept up in the fate of Amleth. But I did find her falling in love with Amleth to be weak sauce. Very little in the film shows deep character development. One moment Amleth and her know each other, the next they are screwing in the woods. Fair to Amleth, she is stunning!

Then we have Nicole Kidman. I wasn’t sure I liked her role in the movie, until about 3/4 of the way through. Then, with a revelation, I really liked her character. I don’t want to spoil anything, but Eggars certainly plays with a common convention, and it works for me. She’s intense as hell and you can see she’s an actor at levels above many others.

The Northman is also very stylised. It’s like the bastard child of The Lighthouse and Gladiator. Eggars uses many hallucination bits to show the world of the Vikings. From scenes of our hero conversing with Fate, to Valkyries on the battle field, it’s superbly realised and really helps build the mythos around Odin and his lot.

Visually stunning

Eggas excels at the surreal and metaphorical, and it works very well in The Northman. The directing is superb, as is the sound score. There were moments that truly blew me away.

One in particular is a ‘single’ camera take that goes from following a boat from a river’s edge, to sitting in one of the seats of said boat. The colour pallet is also beautiful. With lots of blues and magentas changing the tone and landscape.

There is also one scene where Amleth is retrieving a magical sword that is superb, but I don’t want to spoil anything.

The only negative I can really find in the movie I’ve already mentioned; the lack of character development. But there are also some tonal issues unneeded, graphic violence. I read that the studio interfered with Eggars’ ultimate vision, wanting more blood and guts to get more bums in seats. Indeed, a lot of the extreme violence feels shoehorned in to appeal to an audience expecting Gladiator or the series Spartacus.

If you want Gladiator, which was a fun action flick, you might be disappointed. However, if you are after a more internal movie, one that looks at the world of Vikings in a very surreal way, I think you’ll love this. It’s epic in its scope, throwing in visuals that will blow your minds. It’s also very, well, nihilistic, which I do often enjoy. Also, there’s a naked volcano hellfire fighting scene. Well worth the entrance fee!

I give The Northman a solid

9/10