
Reeder’s Movie Reviews: Sir Gawain And The Green Knight
When a movie begins with the caption, “A filmed adaptation of a chivalric romance by Anonymous,” you’re probably thinking this is not destined to be a blockbuster hit at the box office or on a streaming service. But if you know the work of the American writer-director-editor David Lowery, then you’re looking forward to another vivid, contemplative story about the meaning of life.
For his latest picture, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” Lowery has both adapted and elaborated on a fourteenth-century classic of English literature. He succeeds quite brilliantly. Dev Patel, the Indian-British actor who first gained international fame as the star of Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning “Slumdog Millionaire,” gives a superb, nuanced performance as Gawain, the nephew of the legendary King Arthur. During a Christmas season banquet at Camelot, he boldly accepts the challenge of the ominous, tree-like Green Knight to embark on a year-long journey in quest of honor, with the certainty of death at its conclusion. Gawain, no matter what the cost, needs to create a myth about himself.
Unlike a typical Hollywood production, this odyssey foregoes conventional action scenes. Instead, it becomes a meditation on the human condition–on toxic masculinity, celebrity, valor and violence–while respecting the major elements of the original text: the girdle, the friendly fox, showers of leaves, exchanges of gifts/winnings, poetic language, lustful temptation, human-like giants and, importantly, a beheading game. The movie also embraces all of the poem’s ambiguity. The color green, for example, can have many connotations.
In a way, Lowery’s 2017 film, “A Ghost Story,” a deeply melancholic and richly rewarding study of death, loss and the resonance of life starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara, anticipates this story. “Sir Gawain” manages to make a mediaeval text seem psychologically modern and relevant. Lowery and his team have thoroughly integrated the cinematography, art direction, costume design and music (by classically trained violinist-composer Daniel Hart) to give the picture a magical, you-are-there feel.
The entire cast distinguish themselves. Academy Award-winner Alicia Vikander (“The Danish Girl”) portrays both Essel (Gawain’s sensible lover) and The Lady, the very embodiment of seduction and philosophy. Joel Edgerton plays The Lord, whose hospitality comes with a price. Sarita Choudhury appears as Morgan le Fay, Gawain’s enchantress-mother, who craves greatness for her son.
“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is, like most of David Lowery’s work, an acquired taste. But if you’re prepared to immerse yourself in a story rich with character, emotion, symbolism and poetry (both verbal and visual), then you’ll savor this journey. This is a story well worth telling, and watching.
Related Stories:

Reeder’s Move Reviews: Jurassic World Dominion
According to the real-life paleontologists, dinosaurs disappeared from Earth 66 million years ago. To judge by the sixth entry in the Jurassic Park franchise, its fresh story ideas have been exhausted as well. The original wonder has waned. Continue Reading Reeder’s Move Reviews: Jurassic World Dominion

Reeder’s Movie Reviews: Top Gun: Maverick
For the longest time, it just wouldn’t fly. A sequel to Top Gun {1986), one of the highest-grossing movies of its decade. The movie that made the charismatic Tom Cruise box office gold. Even when the sequel finally came to fruition, the pandemic delayed its release by two years. Continue Reading Reeder’s Movie Reviews: Top Gun: Maverick

New Top Gun Sequel Starring Tom Cruise Includes Pacific NW Scenery. But We’re A ‘Rogue’ State
The summer movie blockbuster season kicked off May 27 with the release of a long-delayed sequel to the 1980s hit “Top Gun.” And Pacific Northwest moviegoers may recognize some familiar mountain scenery in the background. Continue Reading New Top Gun Sequel Starring Tom Cruise Includes Pacific NW Scenery. But We’re A ‘Rogue’ State