Arthurian mythology is one of those weirdly nebulous beasts, the more you try to dig into it the more you discover that it spans such a width period of time, with so many interlinking influences, that trying to get a good grip on who's who and what's what is akin to standing on shifting sands. When I first saw the trailer for The Green Knight, I immediately wanted to know what the underlying story was, but it's a weird tale amongst weird tales, and not entirely clear where its origin comes from. For starters, Gawain is a slippery character, often changing his heritage or affiliation depending on the teller's need, and rarely getting centre stage, though clearly has routes in Welsh folklore and legend. It is perhaps unsurprising that his most famous tale, then, involves little of the rest of Arthur's Court (or indeed, Arthur himself), and instead involves a nature spirit quite reminiscent of the Green Man found throughout Celtic folklore, with relatively low stakes and a muddled sense of morality. After all, under the chivalric code his actions to strike the Green Knight down make sense, but under common wisdom it's not exactly the kindest path to choose, and one which ultimately leaves his very life on the line.

Which is all to say that I was a bit fascinated with how the film was going to work. Would it try to stylise the myth out, make sense of it like so many modern interpretations of Medieval (and earlier) legends, or would it embrace the otherworldly weirdness of it all. I'm very glad to say that they opted for the latter, and the film is all the stronger for it!

First, the film is beautiful. It's brilliant shot and designed, which leaves every frame dripping with atmosphere, and even the slightly more offbeat design choices (like the mute, naked giants) just serve to drive home its fantastical nature. The world Gawain journeys through is unmistakably human, and therefore full of the follies of humanity, from greed and ego, to war and treachery. But it's also a primaeval world, where the known is vastly outnumbered by the unknown; one where fantasy and reality are not even two sides of the same coin, but often so intertwined as to be indistinguishable. It's how I always imagine the worlds of Arthur and other, earlier mythologies: a kind of contortion of tall tales, nature worship, and great deeds. A time when the world was somehow much smaller, but also much, much more outside of humanity's control. It's likely a fairly modern spin, but it somehow feels ancient in the telling.

Layered on top of this is Gawain himself, a character without a huge amount of depth, but one undertaking an unusual quest that does test his limits. He is forced to really examine the world in which he lives and question his privileged position within it. He is not a flawless knight, but a lost and often scared squire, who consistently makes poor decisions, despite an overwhelming urge to do the right thing. He betrays and is betrayed. His is a world not of black and white, like he imagines, but of grey, and that makes for quite an interesting narrative where you never quite know what will happen next. Plus, of course, it helps that he's played by Dev Patel, who is brilliant throughout (as ever).

Which isn't to say that this is a perfect film. I'm not sure how you would make a better one, given the source material (though TGN doesn't exactly stick to the source perfectly, either, which seems fair considering the vast array of possible sources that exist), but it does suffer a little from narrative clarity at times. In particular, the whole imagined ending bit felt a little unclear and overly lengthy. It's the kind of sequence that, once you know the ending, becomes a little easier to understand, but on first watch just seems a bit of a mess.

The film also never really presents a clear point. I think this is by design, and likely part of the riddle of the original mythology, so I'm not sure this is a criticism, but it does play itself in a way where you feel like some great life lesson ought to be learned. There are small ones, particularly for Gawain, but it's never entirely clear what the point of everything was. It can also, at times, be a little hard to track who is who and what's really going on, mainly because characters don't over-exposition themselves. Again, a pro and a con in equal measure.

Still, it's a visually arresting and deeply atmospheric film, with excellent casting throughout, largely excellent pacing, and even if it doesn't quite stick the landing, I still think it's a triumph in its own way.