'The Northman' by Robert Eggers Review: A beautiful film filled with historical accuracy

Robert Eggers is a director that has not yet made a whole lot of films, but the few he has made have been met with great praise for their beautiful directing and unique narratives. While I did not enjoy The Witch all that much, I most certainly enjoyed the creative filmmaking and performances found within The Lighthouse. Eggers' techniques remind me much of filmmaker David Lowery, of which has also entered the public eye in more recent years for very similar styles. Where cinematography is beautiful, and their films are shot on beautiful film formats where colours are vibrant and indicative of their narrative's periods.

I had heard of The Northman for many, many months, but I never gave it any attention for some strange reason. It is a film that long lived under my radar, with me not even seeing a trailer or image from the film before I decided to watch it. I went in completely unaware of what the film was or what to expect, and I sincerely hope others do the same, even if it means you pay zero attention to this review going forward.

The Northman is a unique film, one that the film industry has been thirsting for for many years now. Where the fantasy genre extends beyond family films and massive budgets with low quality, and takes the ideas of mythology and anicent mysteries with both attention and care. The result is a film that I absolutely loved, and I do not think we will likely see another like it for quite a while.

I really do not want to write a lot about the narrative of The Northman, because I feel it is a film that really is best experienced without knowing anything prior. I will avoid discussing certain aspects of the narrative for this reason, and will refrain from going into too much depth!

As is the case of most films focusing on the brutal ages long gone, The Northman is a tale of vengeance. Where a lone wolf acknowledges his fate to seek out revenge against those who have wronged his family and tarnished their name. Our protagonist, Amleth, portrayed by an insanely shredded Alexander Skarsgård, devotes his childhood and future self to honouring his family no matter the outcome, as part of a ritual that brings him from boyhood into adulthood.

Going into his adulthood, Amleth must take matters into his own hands as he explores the world and its mystical powers that aim to guide him towards fulfilling his fate. These mystical beings pertain to the rich nordic mythology, and I absolutely loved it. While their screentime is rather short, their attention to detail both visually and in historical context is incredible. I found myself heavily enjoying the historical accuracy of The Northman as it quickly spans over much of its mythological creatures and concepts that made the time and culture so rich and impactful on human development and society.

Where death is not something that many fear, but instead long for providing it is given to them under battle, granting them access into the glory of the afterlife, to dine and live along the greatest of the greats. Where chivalry was certainly a thing, but not under the Christian context, more so a dedication to the Gods that forever watched both from above and from land. The dedication and acknowledgement of these Gods throughout the film just added to the narrative, where even in the film's Icelandic locations it feels mystical. The strong orange glow of lava erupting from a volcano to the use of ravens that signal events and support. Long-dead beings that lurk beneath the green hills awaiting a challenger for their strongest, most mystical weapons to be granted their worth.

Shot on 35mm film, The Northman is visually stunning. Its directing puts most modern films to shame with the way it frames its perspectives and utilises the colours it does. These flat colours and frequent considerations of light and silhouettes allows for some very simple compositions, but ones that work so, so very well. The dark tones of Iceland allow for the mystery and mythological elements of the film to thrive. Where some of the film's most paranormal events take place under dark nights, lit by a very white moonlight that barely illuminates the surroundings. Its opposite being locations lit strong by warm orange fire. In such warm environments, we see more frequent up-close perspectives that look deep into the character's faces to display their emotions.

Though in the context of the film, these emotions are ones of pain, suffering, and immense hatred. Where anger takes reign and we see the emotional toll of the past on our protagonist as he prioritises revenge over all else, no matter the events that unfold that add to such emotional struggles. It contributes to the film's narrative in which our protagonist has had his last tear taken from him, and he is now incapable of shedding a tear until his revenge is conducted. Alexander Skarsgård displays these emotions with such little expression in an incredible manner.

Robert Eggers, while having not particularly impressed me a lot in the past due to his relatively limited library of films, has certainly managed to win me over with his directing in The Northman. The way it tells its story and takes advantage of both still perspectives and tracking movements with the camera prioritises narrative and immersion to a peak. Each scene, in which the way it is crafted, appears to be near perfect. I found myself loving even the most action packed scenes in addition to the snippets of footage used to connect scenes together. The displaying of Iceland's beautiful nature contribute to the mystical world the film crafts. I found it really, really pulling me in and wanting more of it.

Even now, I hope this film results in many more to come as others are inspired by the risks it has taken in both narrative and visuals. Because there are many risks taken, and the results are certainly beautiful and to be appreciated.

It appears that in recent years we are starting to see a revival of the fantasy genre from those who see the genre as one that can be ripe in storytelling and culture without needing to appeal to the masses. The Northman is a blockbuster before the new wave of blockbusters entered and ruined the typical storytelling structure of films and replaced it with handholding and laziness. There is no interest in carrying your attention throughout the film and providing endless amounts of context through exposition. Instead, it provides various mythological elements without context, allowing your mind, if not exposed to these concepts before, to slowly fill in the gaps and appreciate the mystery that such mythological concepts convey.

I found myself really appreciating this. As my memory of mythology was revived and my appreciation for the depth of the mythological aspects continued to rise. The Northman builds a fascinating world with such additions, but it only displays them briefly when necessary without overstaying and removing some of that mystery. Alongside the lands of Iceland, it creates a world that is unique, gloomy, but full of depth that is mostly untouched. Though even alongside the mythological elements there are more grounded elements that keep the film's world connected to the Earth's past; where magic is seen as something vast and mysterious despite such magical actions merely being the utilisation of natural elements.

The Northman is fresh. Though holding some filmmaking similarities to other recent films such as The Green Knight. It's a film that's safe, but also one that's very creative and unique given the state of fantasy films; especially where most films focused on such periods of time fail to display the mythological elements and only really focus on politics and violence; and many use far too many special effects which ultimately distract the audience and remove them from the immersion of such a world deep in history to be explored. The Northman's attention to detail in its cinematography is what pieces everything together so well, allowing the film to really stand out in such strange times for the world of cinema.