As much as I appreciated The Witch and The Lighthouse, those films didn’t quite convince me that writer/director Robert Eggers is the real deal. Don’t get me wrong, they’re undeniably well-made and thought-provoking pieces of filmmaking art, but they’re also so esoteric that they border on grueling. This is why I believe The Northman is such an important movie, as it conclusively proves that Eggers has grown as an filmmaker to the point that, with some confidence, I’m willing to call him a visionary.

Like both of his previous films, Eggers chose a piece of historical fiction loaded with folklore for The Northman. The story begins with a young prince named Amleth (Oscar Novak), who observes his uncle (Claes Bang) murder his father, King Aurvandill War-Raven (Ethan Hawke), and imprison his mother, Queen Gudrún (Nicole Kidman). After barely managing to survive the violence, Amleth flees his homeland, swearing to return and avenge his family. Many years later, an adult Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård) tracks down Fjölnir, his usurping uncle, on the isle of Iceland. With a Slavic slave called Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy) as his partner, Amleth begins to fulfill his vengeful destiny, no matter the cost. If this sounds a bit like the plot of Hamlet, well, it’s because ole Bill Shakespeare based his seminal work on the same Norse tale.

For those of you still on the fence about Robert Eggers and his movies, let me preface the remainder of my review by stating that The Northman is without question the most conventional, and therefore approachable, of all of his projects. While it’s still undoubtedly avant-garde, the primary storyline is easy to follow, and more importantly, easy to engage with. In many ways, that represents a step up from his previous films, even if those films had a bit more to say theme-wise. Because of this, it’s now clear to me that Eggers isn’t crafting films that are different for the sake of being different. The man clearly knows what moves the needle, and in The Northman’s most orthodox moments, he finally demonstrates the full breadth of his range as a filmmaker.

Another indication of Eggers’ growth is how he incorporates the odder moments of this movie into the rest of it. At its core, The Northman is a straight-up revenge story, one’s that quite bloody and riveting, but also somewhat overfamiliar and stale. It also doesn’t help that Viking tales have been all the rage lately. This meant that Eggers, and everyone else involved with this project, faced a rather difficult question during pre-production: how do we make the familiar unfamiliar? The answer is to do what Eggers is well-known for doing, i.e. utilizing the offbeat to fill out the narrative. And given that folklore and mythology practically permeate Norse history, he couldn’t have found a better setting or topic to match his skill set. All of this means that when The Northman veers into the bizarre, like witches or Valkyries, it doesn’t feel out of place or artistically indulgent. It really flows with the plot, and I couldn’t be more impressed by how well it does so.*

It’s also rare to watch a film these days that the actors are so clearly invested in. Not only does Skarsgård bring the physicality required for Amleth, he also gives a performance that finds the right balance of controlled and ferocious. This may not be his most likable role, but it might be his best one. Anya Taylor-Joy is also terrific as Olga, a woman who is in no way relegated to a love interest. Taylor-Joy imbues her character with such wit and wisdom that there’s little doubt she can take care of herself; she’s a fantastic heroine. The rest of the cast is pretty much just as good, with Ethan Hawke standing out in a short but crucial role. He wouldn’t have been the first actor I’d think of to play a Viking king, but man, he really acquits himself well.

Then there’s the action, which, if you’re like me, was something you thought looked quite impressive in the trailers. And it is impressive, with more than one sequence pumping my heart at quite an elevated rate. You know that shot from the trailer of Amleth taking part in a Viking raid? Yeah, that whole scene kicks ass, as the camera seamlessly pans around through the chaos and combat. On the whole, the movie is very bloody and gory, to the point that some viewers might find it distasteful. Personally, I felt that Eggers and his crew found the sweet spot, both in terms of how violent to be as well as when to use violence to enliven the storytelling.**

Not that the story needs that much enlivening, as it’s consistently satisfying to watch these talented performers sink their teeth into the solid script written by Eggers and his collaborator, Sjón, who’s an Icelandic poet. That being said, the story they’re telling is not without its faults. As I already hinted at, there’s a familiarity to this sort of tale. After all, many of us have read or seen Hamlet or some other similar revenge yarn, which means we already have some level of insight into how this will all shake out. Sure, Eggers’ use of vivid cinematography and folklore breaks up what is familiar, but I still couldn’t help but notice that I was watching a 90-minute allegory padded with artful filler that amounts to a runtime of nearly 140 minutes. The extra fat on this story is often captivating, but it couldn’t have hurt to lose a few pounds.

My only other complaints are closer to nitpicks than sticking points. Without spoiling anything, there were a few scenes that incorporated Norse rituals and the like that detached me from the characters and story. While I’m sure the filmmakers did their best to base most of this off history, some of the stuff shown was so foreign to me that it felt a bit silly, and thusly, immersion-breaking. I would even posit that the film often opts for historical demonstration over character-building, sometimes to its detriment. Other than that, my only other nitpick is that I occasionally found the audio-mix to be a bit off. Some of the dialogue was quite hard to make out, which was a problem with The Lighthouse as well. It certainly didn’t help that most of the performers, understandably, applied a pretty heavy accent to their manner of speaking.

It seems to me that Robert Eggers will always be a director who struggles with expectation versus reality. The expectation that many filmgoers will have, and I blame trailers for this, is that his films will be scary, or violent, but in a traditional sense. Or worse, he might eventually get pigeonholed into the “quirky” filmmaker subgroup and deal with the expectations that come with that. However, as he demonstrated with The Northman, that’s not the reality. The reality is that Eggers is a singular craftsman who has shown such a range of filmmaking skill, both artistically and in terms of recruiting talent to aid him, that he’s earned the privilege of no expectation or categorization. With The Northman, a film replete with the conventional and unconventional, he’s proved himself as a true up-and-coming visionary. I can’t wait to savor whatever he does next.

If I had to score it, I’d give The Northman an 8/10.

Notes:

* One surreal scene in particular, in which Amleth seeks out a sword destined to be used in his quest of vengeance, stands out from the rest. Thinking back on my favorite fantasy scenes in film (all film; not just The Northman), this one ranks right up there with my favorites. It’s just so freakin’ cool.

** The action is also really well-shot, like all of the cinematography by Jarin Blaschke in this movie. The camera movement and placement are simply superb in every scene. The color palette is so eye-catching as well, with the flawless utilization of blacks and whites in nighttime sequences juxtaposed with the vivid colors of daytime sequences. Also, I should mention that so much of this film happens in-frame (or in-camera), rather than being digitally added. That means I need to give big praise to the set designers, costume designers, and everyone else involved in creating this enthrallingly beautiful motion picture.