Since his debut film, The VVitch, in 2015, Robert Eggers has cemented himself as one of the most intriguing and unique directors working today. With its cerebral pacing and spine tingling finale, Eggers captured cinephiles’ attention and continues to hold it. Eggers followed it up with the imaginative and bat-shit crazy The Lighthouse. A film that put Lobster on the map in a better fashion than Red Lobster.
With those two films under his belt, it’s safe to say the anticipation for his latest film, The Northman, was high. Quickly jumping into my top 10 most anticipated films of 2022, Eggers’ latest had plenty of expectations going in. Never compromising his unique style, he crafts a visceral Viking epic with The Northman. Eggers’s spellbinding blend of blockbuster and art house gives us a haunting experience that will be celebrated amongst the upper echelon of cinema in 2022.
Co-written by Eggers with Sjón, The Northman follows Amleth, a young prince who is forced into exile after the murder of his father. Before expulsion, Amleth made a vow to bring vengeance for his father’s murder by killing the man who brought death to his family and rescuing his mother.
Eggers and Sjón’s screenplay is more in line with a traditional tale of revenge than his first two films. Effectively capturing the hate running through Amleth’s veins, the script examines the animalistic nature of hate and its consequences. Sjón and Eggers craft a screenplay that masterfully blends brutality with Viking ritual, one of the film’s biggest strengths. Cinephiles are treated to an artistic bloodbath that can only come from the mind of Eggers.
The film lands as his most audience accessible film. There is no denying that Egger’s imagery is on full display. Academy Award nominee Jarin Blaschke returns after his tremendous work on The Lighthouse to lens one of the hypnotizing cinematic experiences of the year. Blaschke captures the breathtaking landscapes that encapsulate the enormous scope of The Northman while immersing cinephiles into a dreamlike escape of Viking lore.
Aiding Blaschke’s lens is Sebastian Gainsborough & Robin Carolan’s score. There’s nothing better for a film score lover than a score that brings chills throughout every piece of music. 2022’s film scores are off to an incredible start as this is the second time in just the last two months where a score has left quite an impact on me upon the film’s conclusion.
The Northman’s ensemble came to play! Not one actor in the film phones it in. Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman takes her talent to create a cunning matriarch while eliminating the traditional damsel in distress trope that often comes from the wife in these films. Matching Kidman is Anya Taylor-Joy, who continues to show why she’s one of the rising actress working today. What feels like a continuation of her character in The VVitch, Joy is magnetic and whimsical.
Ethan Hawke and William Dafoe are both endearing despite not much screen time. However, all the performances pale in comparison to the work of Alexander Skarsgård. Skarsgård is frightening, fierce, & brutal. In a career-best take, Skarsgård’s interpretation aligns with Ryan Gosling’s magnetic performance in Drive. A first performance that audiences will remember as one of the best of the year.
In a year full of blockbusters, few and far between will be as ambitious as Eggers’s The Northman. Many have classified the film as “a $90 million Robert Eggers film,” and there’s no better way to describe it simplistically. However, The Northman feels like a film that only an auteur with the creativity of Eggers could create, and cinephiles are better for it.
