A Scandinavian warrior who inspired William Shakespeare to pen Hamlet is the basis of this film by Robert Eggers. By far and away, this is his most accessible work. By that, I mean that it's a crowd pleasing movie for virtually any audience. Eggers left A24 and with him, the nightmarish abstract visions that dominated The Witch and The Lighthouse. The Northman is a classic historical epic that really brought me back to watching The Revenant for the first time. It's a world bathed in blood and guts, as kingdoms rise and fall in the age of the Vikings. Prince Amleth must avenge his father and save his mother from his evil uncle who's captured the kingdom. This feels like the film that Eggers has always wanted to make and he brings an enormous amount of passion to it. It's nasty, loud and brutal, and that's exactly what it needed to be. Great performances from the entire cast, but especially from Nicole Kidman and Anya Taylor-Joy. Also, any Nordic film that's self-aware enough to utilize Bjork is absolutely doing something right. Robert, you're a clever boy.
Review of The Northman
