Set in ninth- and 10th-century Europe, Robert Eggers’ brutal revenge saga The Northman is a lavish, sweeping film, but its unrelenting gore will undoubtedly repel many viewers.
Loosely based on the Scandinavian legend that inspired Hamlet, with elements of Macbeth thrown in, The Northman’s antihero, young prince Amleth, vows revenge after seeing his father, King Aurvandil War-Raven (Ethan Hawke), slaughtered by his uncle, Fjolnir (Claes Bang), who then steals his kingdom and marries his mother, Gudrun (Nicole Kidman). After being raised into full warriorhood by Vikings, the adult Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård) tracks his uncle down and sets his vengeance in motion, aided by one of Fjolnir’s slaves, Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy).
The Northman doesn’t sugarcoat its pagan characters’ bleak, filthy, violent lives. These are bona fide barbarians who thrive on casual slaughter and enslaving conquered peoples—their facility with mayhem means the difference between freedom, death, or lowly servitude. Beheadings, disembowelment, and general bloodletting abound—a Viking raid on a Slavic village is particularly hideous, and makes for troubling viewing, especially in light of recent world events.
For his tale of bestial savagery and revenge, Eggers drew heavily on John Milius’ Conan the Barbarian—lifting the opening narration, the overall plot structure, key scenes, ad infinitum—but The Northman lacks a critical ingredient that made Conan a more successful film in every sense: Milius’ wicked sense of humor.
The Northman’s humorlessness is arguably its weakest point, while no doubt an artistic choice by Eggers, and the film takes itself too seriously. Eggers also draws on Roman Polanski’s bleak Macbeth in many ways, from its pivotal witches to the consciousness-raising medieval drug-induced hallucinations. The Northman’s score by Robin Carolan and Sebastian Gainsborough also seems to echo the Third Ear Band’s unforgettable soundtrack for Polanski.
Although not on par with Eggers’ excellent The Witch, The Northman is a well-crafted production and a distinct improvement over his meandering The Lighthouse. The film’s cast is fine overall, particularly Kidman, Willem Dafoe as Heimir the Fool, and Bjork in a small, memorable appearance as a witch.
Production design and costumes are high-quality, the Nordic locations are striking, and Eggers keeps his camera mercifully steady, eschewing senselessly jerky camerawork. CGI effects don’t overwhelm the movie, but the sadism and bloodshed levels are high enough to reach Valhalla.
Bleak and grim, with glaring plot holes, The Northman is 20 minutes too long and doesn’t inspire multiple viewings. Films about truly barbaric characters are a gamble, because, as in this case, they focus on inarticulate thugs who are little better than the vermin they’re battling. Eggers succeeds at making a Viking epic, but a joyless, often repulsive one that’s easy to appreciate, but not so easily palatable.
The Northman
R, 137 minutes
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Violet Crown Cinema