Poor Little Greenie

Part of the reason I queued up The Green Knight (2021) is that I remembered that Ms. Spenser was a fan of the poem. Also, it was one of the big art house hits of 2021. Also, I was wrong about Ms. Spenser - she’d never read it.

It stars Dev Patel as Gawain, who looks like Adam Driver, according to Ms. Spenser. He gets up on Christmas morning in a brothel, but because he’s King Arthur’s nephew, he cleans up and heads to court. So even though he isn’t ready to be a knight, and is pretty much a wastrel, he gets to sit with he king and queen, who are both white-haired and old. When the king is trying to start the revelry, a giant knight in green armor with a bark-like helmet comes in and sets up a game. Anyone in the court can take a whack at him with his axe. Then next Christmas, the Green Knight could return the blow. 

Gawain accepts the challenge, and Arthur lends him Excalibur, reminding him that it’s just a game. So Gawain chops his head off.

Now this is odd. We have seen that Gawain is a drinker and runs with loose women, but not that he’s violent or ambitious. Maybe he just wasn’t too bright. Anyway, the Green Knight picks up his head and leaves, reminding Gawain that he will have to submit to a beheading next year.

So Gawain spends the year drinking and whoring. Meanwhile, his mother (not identified, but maybe Morgan le Fay? And played by Sarita Choudhury) and some other witchy types are making mystic magic. When Gawain gets ready to leave, his mother gives him the Green Knight’s axe, and a green belt that will protect him from harm.

So he sets out. He has a number of adventures. Some are ghastly - a poor boy stripping bodies on a battle field misdirects him and later ambushes him. Some are comical - he meets the ghost of St. Winifred, who demands that he return her head to her body, and is rather snippy about it. And he seems to be followed by a fox that might be his mother.

Finally, he meets a lord with a fine  mansion and sexy wife. While the lord is out hunting all day, the lady is trying to seduce Gawain. 

But finally he goes to meet the Knight. He meets up with the Knight, and at the last moment - he bolts. He goes back to Camelot, inherits the kingdom, etc. But SPOILER we can tell it’s an Owl Creek Bridge scenario. It’s all a dream or fantasy. He comes to back in front of the knight. I won’t spoil the ending.

This is a puzzling movie. It’s tone is very inconsistent - sometimes ancient, sometimes modern, although it does have a somewhat Mallick-like pace. There’s social commentary in some scenes, witchcraft in others. Each section has a title card with a different ye-olde typeface, indicating a certain eclecticism. I had heard that the principle was that the ancient mindset is alien to us, so some thing won’t make sense to the modern mind. I don’t think director David Lowery achieved this. At least it felt like more of a muddle. But it’s an interesting, good looking muddle, and worth watching.