Directed by Robert Eggers
Written by Sion, Robert Eggers
Starring Alexander Skarsgard, Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Claes Bang & Willem Dafoe
Running time: 2 hours 17 minutes
Rated R
In theaters on April 22

by A. Freedman, Staff Writer

Have you noticed that Vikings have had a real comeback this decade? Maybe it has to do with the success of shows like Vikings and The Last Kingdom, themselves following in the wake of Game Of Thrones dominating the zeitgeist. Viking stories are in. Whatever it may be, director Robert Eggers (The VVitch, The Lighthouse) has arrived with his dark, obsessively detailed version of it. The result is The Northman, a Viking tale told in epic scope, equal parts beauty and brutality, and with something to contribute to our modern re-evaluations of the history of violence and men.

When The Northman begins in the 9th century North Atlantic, we meet young Prince Amleth, celebrating the return of his King father (Ethan Hawke). At home while his dad has been away doing war stuff, Amleth has been eagerly awaiting the return of his hero, biding time with his mother Queen Gudrun (Nicole Kidman). It is not long before his Uncle Fjolnir (Claes Bang) betrays his brother, takes Queen Gudrun for himself, and appoints himself the new King. Amleth flees with only his life, as we are catapulted into a Viking Hamlet.

When we meet the grown-up Amleth (Alexander Skarsgard), he is rowing on a Viking ship in Eastern Europe, and is significantly jacked. His shoulder traps are like mountains. He is part of a horde that has an easy time attacking and pillaging a village–they’ve done this many times by now–where he meets Olga (a witchy Anya Taylor-Joy). She is taken as a slave and in the process of being delivered to...King Fjolnir himself, having fled to Iceland after suffering a defeat. Hearing this news, Amleth finds his way there, where he seeks to finally fulfill his three promises: avenging his father, saving his mother, and killing his uncle.

Robert Eggers loves to work in the space where history and lore intersect. His films get the meticulous details of the long ago past as right as possible, while taking seriously the stories of witches, ghosts, and mermaids. Whether they really existed is not as interesting as the role they played as projections of a fearsome colonial mindset. The Northman is no different, with his signature dose of spooky madness grafted onto a larger canvas. Yet with a significantly larger budget, it was clearly made with a more general audience in mind. A bigger toolbox means a bigger responsibility, and the director has been candid in interviews talking about not having final cut privileges. While the purist in you may protest, he seems to have embraced it in the end. It also has the feeling of being more simplified and reigned in than The VVitch or The Lighthouse. It’s the first Eggers film that your average American dad will probably enjoy.

However, below the blood, guts, gore and swordfighting lies a unique subversion of the revenge tale. It’s nothing new to suggest that a hero’s journey to vengeance is a hollow prize, but The Northman seeks to deconstruct the very concept of the hero’s journey. Is Amleth a hero? Or little more than an idiot rube? And what about all those other sword and sandal movies–Braveheart comes to mind–where there is such a clear distinction between good and evil? The heroes are always so sure that their cause is just and right. But if we know anything in 2022, especially when it comes to the lives of men, it’s that nothing is at it seemed. Shows like The Last Kingdom, whose hero finds himself stuck between allegiances, ponder similar questions. The power of destiny and myth can be like a boulder pulling you to the bottom of the ocean, or wherever Valhalla may be.