The Northman Review

This last weekend, I had the opportunity of seeing the new Robert Eggers movie The Northman and, as a fan of his work, I can say that I wasn’t disappointed. The film is brutal, violent, and epic; it should be a must-watch for anyone with a casual interest in Viking-type films.

         The plot is that a prince of a nordic village witnesses his father betrayed and murdered by his uncle. He flees while watching his village burn and his mother kidnapped. Once he is grown, the prince seeks to claim his revenge against his uncle and avenge his father.  

         I thought that that film was very well-paced, which helped with the long 2hr and 17min runtime. Robert Eggers did a great job capturing the feeling of a brutal Viking tale, with the main character being almost a berserker. The scenes where he’s raiding villages are really well done with what looks like a one-take as the camera seamlessly moves throughout the village as all this violence and chaos occurs. Robert Eggers’s movies, until this point, didn’t involve a lot of action in them except for small fights between two characters, so it made me wonder how he would pull off large-scale battles, and he nailed them. The cinematography is also outstanding, with some breathtaking shots not just of the landscapes of Iceland but also some great interior shots with clever lighting.

         While I can safely say that I loved the movie, there were some aspects of it that I couldn’t quite connect with. Without spoiling the film, I will say that there is a scene early on where the main character is trying to connect with his inner wolf spirit; that came across as a little bizarre to me. It is possible that the scene is accurate to history given how much attention to detail and research Robert Eggers puts into his movies, and he also co-wrote with a well-known poet and novelist for this type of work. I also felt a slight disconnect with some of the characters throughout the movie, particularly the mother played by Nicole Kidman. I’ll be completely honest;  I dislike Nicole Kidman, and it has nothing to do with her as a person, but I might be permanently scarred by those terrible AMC ads that play before every movie. I wish that there was a little more time spent with her character.

         I enjoyed the movie throughout, and I think that it’ll be one of those where I’ll grow to appreciate it more on repeated viewings. While I feel very positive about this movie, I struggle to know who I should recommend the film to. I wouldn’t say that it’s a crowd-pleaser like Spider-Man: No Way Home, but I wouldn’t say it falls into the film nerd category either. The plot is straightforward and easy to follow, with plenty of action throughout and only a few moments in the movie that I would describe as weird. It’s definitely an excellent theater experience, so if you have a free weekend and want to see a new film, I think The Northman is well worth your time.