The Green Knight (2021) Movie Drinking Game
Do a Shot: for every test Gawain fails.
Take a Drink: for every shot of the green belt.
Do a Shot: for every hallucination.
Take a Drink: every time Gawain is drunk.
Open a Beer: every time you come up with a new interpretation of the film.
By: Movie Snurb (A Toast) –
David Lowery has made his most ambitious film to date, a retelling of the centuries-old poem titled “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight”. The directionless Gawain (Dev Patel) spends his days getting drunk and sleeping with prostitutes while never really having any kind of ambition. One day while he’s sitting next to King Arthur, a Green Knight comes to the round table and throws down a game/challenge. Let one knight try to land a blow upon the Green Knight. If successful, in one years’ time he shall seek the Green Knight 6 day’s journey north at a green chapel and receive the same blow he gave. Gawain accepts this game/challenge and chops off the Green Knight’s head. The rest of the film is a telling of Gawain’s journey one year later to honor the challenge.
A Toast
Since this is a new release and not an old release like Mulholland Dr. I am going to do my best to leave out spoilers. So this review may be brief because I do not want to get into the interpretation of the film. However, if you see it and want to talk about it I would be more than happy to. This film begs to be talked about. Which is what makes it so great along with many other things. The film is open to many interpretations and not limited to a certain amount of definitions, either. Many will leave with questions as to what certain things are or why they are in the film. Well, that might be up to the viewer. Much like a Lynch film, Lowery probably won’t give direct answers as to what the film means because he wants the audience to decide for themselves. If you met him on the street and told him what you think the film means he’d probably always just say “you’re right”. Many of the great films that have stood the test of time are open for interpretation. Because, when all the answers are given to you, your curiosity on the subject becomes less. Everyone will be talking about The Green Knight for years to come.
Good lord is this film gorgeous. The costumes, the visual effects, the cinematography, the landscapes, everything about this film is a visual feast. It blends practical effects with CGI near seamlessly. You can tell the FOX is CGI’d but you do not care. I imagine that though this film is not friendly for audiences the crafts at the Oscars will eat all of this up. Look for several below the line nominations. Lowery has made a truly marvelous thing to look at on a smaller-scale budget. It feels massive, yet small at the same time. Which is a testament to Lowery’s vision and his team.
Dev Patel as Gawain is simply perfect casting. As Lowery put it on The Big Picture podcast “He has a youthful and innocent face, allowing him to be both childlike and adult at the same time”. It’s a paraphrase, but you get the gist. His casting is excellent for he looks like a man, handsome like a knight should be, but his face and eyes are able to convey a youthful ignorance about the world. Alicia Vikander is brilliant in a dual role. Joel Edgerton is memorable in his small part as a Lord. Sean Harris is possibly our best working character actor; at least very underrated. Lastly, Ralph Ineson should have all of the voice work. Such a chilling voice.
Lastly, the score by Daniel Heart is amazing. It’s a melding of current sounds with choral songs that sound like they were plucked out of the 14th century. I don’t know if the Academy will recognize this excellent score, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Verdict
This will not be for everyone. It will lose people along the journey. However, if you watch until the end I promise it is rewarding.
