There’s a wariness for fans around films based in Arthurian Legend lately. There have been so many covering the tale of and surrounding King Arthur and not all have been memorable. Here comes another one, The Green Knight from A24. However, with this film, writer/director David Lowery is tackling the tale of King Arthur’s nephew Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.  What he has created seems to be very dark, brooding and psychologically thrilling which puts this film on top of our must-see list for Summer 2020.

The Green Knight’s teaser trailer is stunningly beautiful. I had to watch the first few seconds over and over again before I went on to watch the rest. It begins with Sir Gawain, played by Dev Patel, seated as if in a portrait. He’s in a shaft of light, the camera moves and settles on him in a way that he all of a sudden has a halo. There you go. Beautiful shot, taken in. Then Gawain bursts into flames. It’s quite breath-taking.

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After that visual, we see that Gawain doesn’t think he’s meant for greatness, he has no tales to tell. He even says so to a king and queen (played by the amazing Kate Dickie who was Lysa Arryn in Game of Thrones) although the latter seems to think he will achieve it. We then see scenes from his adventure — gloomy medieval scenery, a creepy puppet show, a tarot card reading from Alicia Vikander, a skeleton in the forest, a person with a bear head, Gawain with a giant axe and a pet fox, and finally we get a peek at the incredibly creepy Green Knight.

This film pushes all our horror and fantasy buttons. Check out the trailer, poster and official summary below!

An epic fantasy adventure based on the timeless Arthurian legend, The Green Knight tells the story of Sir Gawain (Dev Patel), King Arthur’s reckless and headstrong nephew, who embarks on a daring quest to confront the eponymous Green Knight, a gigantic emerald-skinned stranger and tester of men. Gawain contends with ghosts, giants, thieves, and schemers in what becomes a deeper journey to define his character and prove his worth in the eyes of his family and kingdom by facing the ultimate challenger. From visionary filmmaker David Lowery comes a fresh and bold spin on a classic tale from the knights of the round table. ~A24

Audrey Kearns
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