Dev Patel stars as Gawain, the nephew of King Arthur, an arrogant young man who wants to secure his place in the royal circle and is challenged one day by the mysterious Green Knight. In a bargain, the Knight tasks anyone to land a blow on him but they will receive an equal blow in return. Gawain steps forward and surprisingly the Green Knight is decapitated when he lowers his head. However, laughing as he lifts his severed head, he tells Gawain to come to the Green Chapel next Christmas to take a return blow.

A year later, Gawain’s mysterious mother Morgan le Fay (Sarita Choudhury) undertakes mystical rituals and gives Gawain a green belt she says will protect him as he heads out the castle to begin his journey.

Lowery infuses his film with reimagined myths from a variety of sources including knights, fairy tales, religion, Viking-style runes, Tolkien and much more. The Green Knight (Ralph Ineson) is hidden under great Del Toro-esque creature make-up, being part Treebeard and part Hellboy 2’s The Last Elemental (also referred to as the Giver of Life and a Destroyer).

In addition, the set design and production is fantastic with the gorgeous visuals illuminating old woods with exotic lighting giving an ethereal tone to the proceedings. The stone castles, grimy taverns and muddy battlefields combine with the weather-beaten faces of yore to create a gritty look which avoids the nasty CGI of certain recent fantasy films.

As Gawain continues his journey he faces challenges including being held up by a scavenging boy (Barry Keoghan) and his criminal crew (think Barry Lyndon) as well as collecting a missing skull for a ghostly woman and encountering some valley giants. A fox joins him on the trail and eventually he ends up in a house with a stately Lord (Joel Edgerton).

This middle section slows down what is already an incredibly measured pace and was the least interesting part for me. Possibly representing a combination of the witchcraft from his mother and a mysterious lady played by Alicia Vikander (the same actress who plays his love interest earlier in the film) the movie doesn’t offer any easy explanations but at times this also leads to frustration.

The film overall has an awfully serious tone with very little light and although it has a host of Game of Thrones alumni, the film wouldn’t have gone amiss with a shot of bawdy melodrama. The dour tone of the final few seasons of Vikings seem like a comedy in comparison. Dev Patel is fantastic however, saying so much with little dialogue and showing outward bravery with a huge dash of inward cowardice.

That said, the meticulous music is a highlight as it mixes ancient choir chanting with modern synth soundscapes. Enchanting and hypnotising it adds a layer of mystery and tension throughout Gawain’s quest.

A captivating ending offering dreamy predictions culminates in a pinnacle of its deep themes about bravery and temptation and is satisfying as well as somewhat open-ended.

From the source material, the incredible 2530 lines and 101 stanzas that make up the poem must be an arduous read. At times, although a lot is apparently cut out, Lowery’s film and its strange pacing is equally gruelling but then again so is Gawain’s expedition.

Haunting and challenging, The Green Knight explores melancholy leitmotifs of life and death as well as fabled gallantry and personal weakness. The film is also at times both puzzling and gruelling, but if you stay loyal to its ambiguity you’ll end up with a satisfying examination of mythical mortality during an extremely rewarding voyage.

★★★★