Now this is my kind of medieval fantasy.
Based on a bit of lesser known lore within the King Arthur legend (and completely new to me), The Green Knight is a fascinating-bordering-on-bonkers art house indie approach to the Tolkien-styled epics ala Lord of the Rings and the legion of copies it has inspired (Game of Thrones, et al). Here’s the official synopsis:
- 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.
Perhaps most the most startling part of this hypnotic first-look trailer (beyond the fever-dream imagery) is that it comes from writer/director David Lowery, someone know for smaller fare ranging from the microbudget A Ghost Story to the 70s throwback The Old Man & the Gun and even the Disney remake Pete’s Dragon.
The one thing they all have in common, however, is that each clearly comes from a visionary, and now The Green Knight looks to be his most ambitious opus yet, including a peak at the actual titular creature that Dev Patel‘s Sir Gawain must fight. Notice that it’s completely real, i.e. an actor (Ralph Ineson) in a brilliantly designed creature suit, rather than a fake CGI concoction — which is what any Hollywood studio would do, but this comes from indie darling A24, who’s had a long partnership with Lowery.
It’s not often that a trailer comes out of nowhere to completely gobsmack you, but this one did for me. It looks like I just found my most anticipated movie of 2020. (And that’s saying something, given that the year also includes Wes Anderson‘s The French Dispatch.)
Co-starring Joel Edgerton, Alicia Vikander, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie, and Barry Keoghan, The Green Knight hits theaters this summer on May 29, 2020.
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