The Northman (2022): Roaring Rampage of Revenge

The original subtitle of this piece was going to be “Revenge is Sweet Primal”, but my blogging service doesn't seem to allow cross outs in the title line.  Credit where credit is due, my replacement ("Roaring Rampage of Revenge") is a line taken, appropriately, from what is arguably Quentin Tarantino’s best picture, Kill Bill - to be more specific, from Uma Thurman [as “the Bride”] in her spoken intro to Kill Bill, Vol. 2. (2004). Tarantino is a specialist in the revenge motif and Kill Bill (combining volumes 1 and 2 as originally intended) was a terrific movie – one of the best of 2003/2004 in terms of virtuosity of style, memorability and influence. 

The Northman is a sophisticated bit of moviemaking, but unlike Kill Bill, has zero to do with sophistication or modernity. Imagine Norway - and Northern Europe more generally - in 895 A.D., when the opening scenes of The Northman take place. Norway was a land of semi-barbarian, largely Pagan tribes, each ruled by a king. The tribes lived in small villages, supported by light agriculture and raids on other tribes, far and near. The power of the kings was supported by so-called “berserker” warriors – venerating and harnessing the power of fierce animals like the bear or the wolf, wearing their skins into battle, and fighting in a frenzied, ferocious trance-like state, howling, snarling, becoming wild beasts themselves – or so it seemed to those who had to face them. 

And we get a petty good dose of beserkerism in this picture – one of the reasons for its “R” rating. Unlike most films in the Marvel universe which are rated “PG-13” and aimed at teenagers, this one is definitely adult fare.

The film begins as King Aurvandill War-Raven (Ethan Hawke) returns to his kingdom after many conquests across the sea. He is welcomed by his queen, Gudrún (Nicole Kidman); his young heir, Prince Amleth; and more ominously by his brother Fjölnir (Claes Bang). With, perhaps, premonitions of his own doom, the King has Amleth, who is about 12 years old, participate in a religious coming of age ceremony – part of his preparation to eventually assume the throne.  Just in time, too, for the very next day Fjölnir and his henchmen attack and brutally slay Aurvandill and, as Amleth watches, carries off Queen Gudrún. Amleth manages to escape across the water vowing revenge: “I will avenge you father! I will save you mother! I will kill you Fjölnir!” 

So, early on, although the story picks up “many years later” in 914, we know pretty much where this is going. We learn that Amleth was raised by some other Viking group, eventually becoming a berserker himself. From here on out, Amleth is portrayed by a hunky Alexander Sarsgaard. There are a number side trips along the way – involving all sorts of brutal raiding, as deep into Europe as modern-day Ukraine – but when Amleth eventually learns that Fjölnir has taken Gudrún as his queen, that she has borne him a son, and that after being defeated and overthrown by the legendary Harald of Norway, they have fled to Iceland; he determines the time is ripe to fulfill his childhood vow. Our expectation of some serious avenging is about to be fulfilled. 

If the bones of this story sound familiar, you are right: it is based on the same legend that Shakespeare used in his The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Except that Amleth did not attend Wittenberg (which wasn’t founded until 1502) or any other university (nor, it would seem, did he ever receive any formal education whatsoever outside the home).  Unlike Hamlet, Amleth wasn’t a deep thinker, nor a conflicted one.  Revenging the murder of one’s father was not so much a decision as a solemn, time-honored duty. 

On the other hand, even in the pre-Christian Middle Ages, eyebrows were raised if upon the death of her husband, and before the corpse was even cold, a lady turned around and married his brother. If the brother was her former husband’s murderer, that was most definitely beyond the pale. But young Amleth didn’t see it this way – he saw his sweet mum literally carried off by the evil Fjölnir, and when he grew up felt duty-bound to save her – however belatedly.

In any event, it’s quite a yarn, especially in the hands of writer-director Robert Eggers. In my review of his first movie,  The Witch (2015), a few weeks ago, I wrote about Eggers’ obsessive attention to historical detail in his feature films – all three being set in the past. What I said about his approach in The Witch - set in the New England of 1630 - applies as well to the early 10th century environment of The Northman: “He refuses to bring a modern sensibility to this material; the perspective is neither arch, nor ironic nor judgmental; rather, the stories are told by cinematically immersing us in the look, feel and sounds of those times and places.”  We are similarly immersed in the mindset of the people who inhabit that world. 

This 10th century milieu has a few things in common with that of the early New Englanders portrayed in The Witch. In that film, notwithstanding their Puritan Christianity, Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), her immediate family and the community at large believed in the presence and power of supernatural forces: of witchcraft and a very real Satan. So too with Amleth and the Pagans in his world – with their belief in seers, sorcerers (and sorceresses), a plethora of gods including the powerful Odin, and his feared corps of maidens called Valkyrie, who may swoop down to select worthy human warriors for a place in the martial heaven of Valhalla.

To be sure, this is a far more primitive world than 17th century New England. And the Vikings were a far more brutal and warlike people than the Puritans. So even before Amleth’s avenging return to fulfil his destiny, we are treated to a feast of marauding, killing, and bloodletting via swords, axes, and other unsubtle weaponry. Such scenes are plentiful, but not scary or shockingly traumatic to watch; but rather, to me at least, wholly in keeping with the testosterone filled world of Amleth and his fellow warriors. 

It's not all blood, sweat and guts, however. On his journey back to Iceland to confront the usurper Fjölnir, Amleth meets a young slave woman named Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy again), and falls in love, much to his surprise. It’s the first soul-touching connection he has experienced since his childhood. Olga, who is descended from a sorceress herself, pledges to help Amleth in his quest and she does. All of which adds some interesting dimension to Amleth’s persona – not that it diverts him from his fated path.

The climax of the picture contains a few startling plot twists, amidst a lot of gripping, bonfire-lit mayhem and the ultimate confrontations we have been waiting for – which include a stunning set piece: the mano a mano battle between Amleth and his nemesis, set on an active volcano in the midst of hot streams of red, flowing lava! 

Alexander not only stars as Amleth; he also was a key producer of The Northman and an important collaborator with Eggers. He bulked up for the part and looks very much like the Norse warrior he is portraying. While this is not a subtle or nuanced role, he is riveting to watch and totally credible – a good thing too, since he is meant to carry the picture.  If you’ve only seen Danish actor Claes Bang in The Square (2017), you’ll find him unrecognizable here, but he’s excellent as Fjölnir. And Anya Taylor-Joy is fine as Olga – not the most challenging bit of her career but, again, convincing.  Most surprising to me was Nicole Kidman, giving a terrific performance in a couple of quite dramatic scenes as Amleth’s mother.  I say surprising because, despite her decades long efforts to portray women younger than her self, here she can be seen – from certain angles and in certain light – as the 50-something woman she actually is. Still remarkably good looking at her age, but a woman you can believe is the mother of a 30-something adult son (although Skarsgard is actually in his mid-forties).

The look of the movie is, not unexpectedly, pretty great. The DP is Jarin Blaschke – who does wonders with natural light cinematography which enhances the moody feel of almost every scene. He did the photography for Eggers’ two earlier features  as well – also excellent.

I can’t speak for everyone, but I was pretty exhausted by the time the lights came up. Big, powerful, rough and tumble adventure films are not part of my usual diet. To give you an idea of how I was feeling, before I started home from the theater, I texted my wife (who had no interest in seeing such a film) a brief description, as follows: “ Holy F—king Hell!”  

That's because The Northman is a heck of a movie. Big, bold, audacious, great looking, fully engaging.  It’s well worth your time. Because of its violence, it is not for everyone. For everyone else, I recommend it. 

2 hours, 17 minutes. Rated: R

Grade: A-

In theaters nationwide. Also streaming – but for the moment at a premium price  ($19.99) – on most major services, including AppleTV, Amazon, etc