I was so disappointed by The VVitch that I skipped “The Northman”? It does have a Viking theme, Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicole Kidman as actors, plus, the not-so-bad Lighthouse and the upcoming Nosferatu are also of Eggers. Let us watch it anyway.
Eggers created another nicely looking gritty, dark movie. A bit overdone ‘dark’ are Amleth’s initiation and the Berzerkr scenes. These scenes are a bit sad in my eyes. There are other elements in which Eggers seems to have ‘bended history’ to make the film more interesting.
So, some local king returns from battle and realises that he has to confer authority to his young son in case he would die soon. Amleth is initiated and immediately his father is killed by his uncle. Amleth flees and we jump forward in time where we find Amleth as a fighter in a Berzerkr troupe.
He learns that his uncle now lives in Iceland, where he has himself transported to as a slave. On the ship he meets the Slavic Olga (Taylor-Joy). When Amleth is recruited by his uncle, he starts to terrorize the village.
The atmosphere is alright, the visuals are good, the story is thin.
