I'll start by saying that visually, this movie is stunning and it has some moments of great acting. That's about the extent of the positives. As an avid fan of A24, I was very excited for The Green Knight and tried to go into it with as open a mind as possible. I wasn't expecting a horror or action movie. I went in simply expecting to be told a story. I anticipated that it would be on the slower side, but wow. I feel so guilty for saying this seeing as so many people loved the film, but it was way too boring for me to enjoy. I have loved the slow-burn approach that A24 has taken with other movies like The Witch and The Lighthouse, but The Green Knight just didn't have enough substance to keep me engaged in what was going on. Every time something significant seemed to happen, it would be followed by an agonizingly long shot of a forest with loud, eerie music playing over it. Furthermore, this movie is DARK. Like literally dark. I couldn't see who was on the screen or what was happening for at least 30% of the movie. As for the other 70% that I could actually see, I had literally no idea what was going on. What's the meaning of those giant gray naked people? Why did everyone want to kiss Dev Patel? Beats me. Maybe that's my fault because i'm not very familiar with the story of Gawain and the Green Knight, but I consider myself a generally thoughtful person who makes an effort to understand complex films. I spent the entire drive home mentally analyzing this movie and still had no idea what any of it meant until I read some online articles explaining the story. I really wanted to love this movie and I wish I could understand why it is receiving such praise, but both my friend and I left the theater feeling very underwhelmed and sleepy. I've also noticed that a lot of these rave reviews are coming from people who are likely pretentious arthouse film lovers who somehow think they are better than everyone else, since they all seem to think that anyone who didn't enjoy this movie is ultimately "unintelligent". As one review states, "all negative reviews are from people who should have stayed home with a bud light and watched South Park". Well I hate both South Park and beer and still found this film boring, as did the four or so people who walked out of my theater.
Review of The Green Knight
