The Northman

 

Robert Eggers has directed only three feature films, each more exceptional than the one before. The Witch (2015) introduced many of us to the doe-eyed Anya Taylor-Joy and to Eggers' fascination with mysticism as a theme and surrealism as a tonal approach.

In 2019, Eggers' The Lighthouse's two-character tour de force (if one doesn't count the lighthouse itself) continued in the stylistic vein of its predecessor while introducing psycho-sexual undertones in a stunning tale of obsession and madness.

His latest, The Northman (note Eggers' minimalistic approach to film titling), combines all of the elements of the first two features in a re-staging of the Norse legend that gave Shakespeare's Hamlet its theme and rough structure.

Alexander Skarsgård stars as Amlet, the son of a murdered chieftain (Ethan Hawke) in primeval Scandinavia, who pledges vengeance against his uncle (Claes Bang) for killing Amlet's father and marrying his mother. While hiding from his uncle's men, Amlet grows into a fierce, barbaric warrior, untouched by human emotion, his only thought being getting close to his uncle so that he might kill him and free his mother (Nicole Kidman).

Along the way, Amlet is aided by various witchy seers (mainly a freakish Bjork, which might be a redundancy) and a young enslaved woman with her own plans for vengeance (Taylor-Joy).

While The Northman's battle scenes are numbingly grisly, the film as a totality is visually outstanding and not without a few narrative twists. Amlet's reunion with his mother might well earn Kidman a few nods come award season.