Hell bent on avenging his murdered father, a Viking warrior prince reeks gore, blood and havoc throughout his life.
Image: Focus Features/Universal Pictures
Premise
A young Viking warrior, prince Amleth, witnesses the murder of his father by his father’s bastard half-brother and commits himself to a life of vengeance. A commitment which unfolds in blood, gore, sacrifice and a Phyrric triumph.
Opinion
I write this review in trepidation, because nothing I could write could match Hannah Flint’s epic review of this film in Empire earlier this month (you can see it here). It truly is an epic for an epic.
And Robert Eggers’ study in vengeance, its implications and consequences is just that – epic. If it wasn’t modelled so closely on HAMLET one might conclude that it high-concept terms it was a sort of LORD OF THE RINGS meets GAME OF THRONES.
But it is so much more than that. Viking folklore seeps from every frame of this film, and Eggers coaxes masterful performances from the whole cast, from Alexander Skarsgard (Prince Amleth), to Ethan Hawke, to Nicole Kidman who delivers a masterful performance as Skarsgard’s warrior queen mother who turns his life upside down with her surprising revelations.
In story terms one might wonder at Amleth’s naiveite at times, but it is conveyed convincingly by Skarsgard who nevertheless is at his best when reeking bloody vengeance on his foes.
The script, co-written by Eggers and Sjon, the Icelandic poet, is structurally sound, and the dialogue gives a healthy nod to the rhythms of ancient language without collapsing into absurdity.
The cinematography is exceptional, although much of the film seems to be shot through dark filters which becomes a little wearing at times. Again, a few of the scenes are reliant on heavy VFX/CGI, and it is always apparent when this is the case.
But these are tiny niggles. It’s a magnificent movie, one of the must sees of the first half of 2022. In particular, the dénouement is creative and surprising, anything but the cliché it might have been destined to become. It’s worth seeing for that stroke of genius alone, especially since it ably demonstrates that vengeance is not a prize that comes without price.
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