"The Green Knight" (2021)

David Lowery’s Arthurian retelling is the best movie of the year so far. If nothing else, it is a work of visual art suitable for framing and being hung in a museum. There is a shot near the end of the film where Gawain is kneeling before the knight in the Green Chapel, lit from above by a golden light that could be a painting from Rembrandt. The whole film is full of such visuals.

But the story and the messages are just as excellent as the visual art. Lowery plays with and adjusts the plot in ways that maintain a lot of the original ideas, but also make powerful commentaries on today’s culture.

In a nutshell, the poem tells the story of Gawain, who accepts a challenge from a mysterious Green Knight. Gawain is allowed to deliver a single blow of an ax on the knight, and in return, one year later, Gawain will receive an identical blow. Gawain chops the knight’s head off, but it does not kill the somehow supernatural being. One year later, Gawain journeys to the knight’s chapel to receive his fate. Along the way, adventures are mentioned, but not detailed. Finally, Gawain ends up at a castle where a lady gives him a sash that will protect him from all harm. Gawain wears the sash in secret, and the blow against him only nicks him. However, the Green Knight knew about Gawain’s sash. The nick was delivered as a sign of his attempted deceit. Afterward, all the Knights of the Round Table wear a green sash to remind them to be honest.

In the film, the story is even more about the virtues that a knight of honor must have. More than mere honesty, a knight must be brave, selfless, hard-working, pure, and honorable. Gawain is not yet a knight and hopes to attain the rank through the feat of challenging the Green Knight. On his journey to the Green Chapel, each of his adventures demonstrate that Gawain is lacking many of the virtues necessary to be a good knight.

At the climax of the film, Gawain flinches at the first swings of the ax as in the poem. However, unlike in the poem, Gawain runs away before the final blow can be delivered. We then see, in quick succession, his life to follow. He is knighted and becomes King when his uncle, King Arthur, dies. He has a child with his commoner lover but abandons her for a political union and steals his son from her. He ends up a besieged and unpopular king all alone.

Back at the Chapel, the montage is revealed to be merely a vision of things to come. In light of what he has seen, Gawain removes the sash and welcomes the sure death he had so feared. He has realized that a short life with virtue and honor is better than survival at all costs.

This week I was listening to another story of a young man who had a meteoric rise to success only to fall in utter failure. The reminder of the story was that great gifting must be matched with quality of character. And, while gifts often grant young people surprising successes, character must be formed over time with help from others. Sometimes the worst thing that can happen to gifted young people is that they are never limited and given time to mature. The old knightly virtues are not the cultural product of a patriarchy or some other system. They are critical values that must be cultivated to achieve a truly successful life.