The Northman - Cheap Thoughts

For nothing else Robert Egger commits to the bit, whatever work of supernatural historical fiction he is working on, it feels like you are being transported back to that time and place. The Northman is the latest in this line, with vicious, animalistic Vikings who seek bloodshed, honour and kinship. Half the time you will not understand the words being spoken due to their archaic dialect, and yet every emotion is felt with such ferocity, everything that needs to be understood will be.

This commitment doesn’t just lie within the violence, but within every fibre of its being. The cultures being represented, the dialogue being spoken, the outfits and make-up on the actors. There is no shame even in the more ridiculous parts because why should there be? This may be a film being shown to 21^st century audiences but it does not act like it is. This is a retelling of these people and their rituals and their lifestyle, it shall not compromise itself for your modern sensibilities, either come along for the ride or get off.

That being said, the plot itself is relatively easy to follow even if the presentation does not always act like it is. It is a simple revenge tale supposedly based off of real world events, but has been adapted and influenced multiple times across the past thousand years many people can catch on simply due to osmosis. If you’ve seen Hamlet, The Count of Monte Cristo or The Lion King, chances are you will understand this plot with ease, and can simply be carried by the immaculate vibes of the production.

To list everything good about The Northman is to simply list everything about it, every actor gives wonderful performances, no one holds back, they bare their bodies and souls quite literally for the sake of the film. The visuals are gloriously spectacular, the camera is slow and methodical for most of the picture, it is unnerving with its movements, and yet has such an aggression during the action scenes, there is a dynamism to every frame, in simple terms it is a very cool looking movie even when it’s not trying to be.

It is rare a treat for someone like Eggers to be given such a large film, it is an epic in every sense of the word and few films are like it. Many historical epics still feel the need to modernise themselves for the sake of audiences desires, which is certainly not a bad thing, there is a place for them, but to have such an authentic feeling experience on the big screen on a large budget is a treat that should not be taken lightly. Egger’s prior films also had this authenticity, but they were on the smaller scale forced onto them if they wished to exist.

The Northman combines the best of all features. A basic plot, a unique vision and a strong emotional thread to carry the film. Those three things fused offer one hell of a picture, you’re sure to leave the film with your adrenaline pumping and ready to fight your mortal enemy by the gates of Hel, and if you don’t have a mortal enemy, by Odin’s beard you’ll wish you did.

-Danny