Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 2022


The Northman

Buy The Northman now from Amazon

First, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.

Wikipedia article




'The Northman' is a 2022 American epic historical action thriller film directed by Robert Eggers, who co-wrote the screenplay with Sjn. Based on the legend of Amleth, the film stars Alexander Skarsgrd (who also produced), Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Bjrk, and Willem Dafoe. The plot follows Amleth, a Viking prince who sets out on a quest to avenge the murder of his father. The film is heavily influenced by Norse mythology.

Skarsgrd had wanted to make a Viking film for several years, and Eggers decided to make the film his third project after the pair met to discuss possible collaborations. Much of the cast joined in October 2019, and filming took place in locations throughout Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Iceland from August to December 2020.

'The Northman' had its world premiere in Stockholm at Rigoletto Cinema on March 28, 2022. It began theatrical release in some countries on April 13, 2022, and was released theatrically in the United States on April 22 to critical acclaim, with particular praise aimed at its direction, production values, and Skarsgard and Bang's performances. Despite underperforming at the worldwide box office, the film later found financial success at the VOD and home media markets.

Plot





In AD 895, King Aurvandill returns to the fictional island of Hrafnsey after his overseas conquests, reuniting with his wife, Queen Gudrn, and his heir, Prince Amleth. To prepare Amleth for his eventual ascension, father and son participate in a ceremony overseen by Aurvandill's jester, Heimir. Heimir tells Amleth that his destiny is fixed and cannot be escaped from and Amleth vows to avenge his father if Aurvandill is ever slain, rather than live his life in shame. The next morning, Amleth's bastard uncle Fjlnir stages a palace coup, personally beheads Aurvandill, sacks the hillfort, and carries away Gudrn. Amleth narrowly escapes Fjlnir's assassins and flees by boat, swearing vengeance.

Years later, an adult Amleth is a berserker with a band of Vikings. After attacking a village in Gardariki, Amleth encounters a Seeress in the temple of Svetovit; the Seeress says that it is Odin's will for Amleth to take his revenge on Fjlnir, advises Amleth to, "follow the vixen's tail", and that his fate is intertwined with that of a Maiden-King. Soon after, Amleth learns that "Fjlnir the Brotherless" has lost his throne to King Harald Fairhair of Norway and now lives as a sheep farmer in Iceland. Posing as a slave, Amleth sneaks aboard a ship. He encounters an enslaved Slavic woman named Olga, who claims to be a sorceress. They are taken to Fjlnir's farm, where Amleth learns his mother has married Fjlnir and bore him a son named Gunnar.

One night, Amleth follows a vixen and encounters a he-witch, who facilitates a spiritual dialogue between Amleth and the skull of Heimir, whom Fjlnir has also murdered. The he-witch also tells Amleth about Draugr, a magical sword at the Gates of Hel. Amleth enters a mound and obtains the blade after fighting the undead Mound Dweller. He hides the sword upon his return to the farm. The next day, Amleth is selected to compete in a game of knattleikr against another farm. The game turns violent and Gunnar is almost killed, but Amleth saves him. As a reward, Fjlnir's adult son, Thorir, grants him overseer duties and allows him to choose a woman.

During the evening celebrations, Amleth and Olga make love; they promise to overcome Fjlnir together. Amleth kills several of Fjlnir's men, and Olga mixes their food with fly agaric, a potent hallucinogen. The ensuing chaos and the suspicion that the Christian slaves are behind the killings allows Amleth to enter Fjlnir's house. Amleth reveals his identity to Gudrn, who replies that she was Aurvandil's slave and that Amleth was conceived by rape. Gudrn also reveals that 'she' masterminded Fjlnir's coup because she wanted both Aurvandill and Amleth dead; she then mockingly tries to seduce Amleth, who recoils in disgust. Enraged, Amleth kills Thorir, cuts out, and steals his heart.

Gudrn reveals Amleth's true identity to Fjlnir, and calls for the death of her eldest son. Fjlnir decided to kill Olga, but Amleth offers to trade Olga's life for Thorir's heart. After a severe beating, Amleth is released from his restraints by a flock of ravens sent by Odin. Olga also rescues Amleth, who tells her that his mother has murdered his past. Amleth decides to abandon his quest for revenge and the two decide to escape by boat to his kinsmen in the Orkney Islands. But Amleth then has a vision and discovers that Olga is pregnant with twins, one of whom will be the Maiden-King prophesied by the Seeress. Realizing that Olga and their children will never be safe while Fjlnir lives, Amleth, despite Olga's pleas, jumps overboard and swims ashore.

Back at the farm, Amleth frees the slaves and kills Fjlnir's warriors. While searching for Fjlnir, Amleth is attacked by Gudrn and drives Draugr through her heart. Gunnar jumps on Amleth's back, stabbing his half-brother repeatedly until Amleth kills him, too. Fjlnir, discovering his wife and son dead, coldly tells Amleth to meet him at the Gates of Hel. At the crater of the volcano Hekla, Amleth and Fjlnir engage in a fierce Holmgang until Amleth is fatally stabbed and Fjlnir is beheaded. As Amleth lies dying, he has a vision of Olga embracing their two children, whom she tells him are safe, before urging him to let go. A valkyrie carries Amleth through the gates of Valhll (Valhalla).

Cast



* Alexander Skarsgrd as Amleth, a Viking warrior prince.

** Oscar Novak as young Amleth

* Nicole Kidman as Queen Gudrn, Amleth's mother

* Claes Bang as Fjlnir the Brotherless, Amleth's uncle and Aurvandill's brother.

* Anya Taylor-Joy as Olga of the Birch Forest, a Slavic sorceress

* Ethan Hawke as King Aurvandill War-Raven, Amleth's father and Fjlnir's brother.

* Gustav Lindh as Thorir the Proud, Fjlnir's elder son and Amleth's cousin

* Elliott Rose as Gunnar, Fjlnir's younger son and Amleth's half brother

* Willem Dafoe as Heimir the Fool

* Bjrk as the Seeress

* Eldar Skar as Finnr the Nose-Stub, Fjlnir's foreman

* Olwen Four as Ashildur Hofgythja, the priestess of Fjlnir's estate

* Ingvar Eggert Sigursson as He-witch

* Ian Whyte as the Mound Dweller

* Hafr Jlus Bjrnsson as Thorfinnr Tooth-Gnasher, Hkon's champion

* Kate Dickie as Halldora the Pict, a slave on Fjlnir's farm

* Tadhg Murphy as Eirikr Blaze-Eye, Amleth's fellow viking

* Ralph Ineson as Captain Volodymyr, a Rus sea captain

* Murray McArthur as Hkon Ironbeard, chieftain of the neighboring farm

* Ineta Sliuzaite as the Valkyrja

Production



Development

Born to a Swedish family, Alexander Skarsgrd had been fascinated with Viking history and mythology since childhood, and had long sought a Viking-themed project with the help of producer Lars Knudsen. In 2011, Skarsgrd was attached to a Warner Bros. epic with the working title 'The Vanguard', which ultimately did not materialize. Robert Eggers became interested in making a Viking film following a 2016 trip to Iceland with his wife Alexandra Shaker, who is a fan of Old Norse sagas. During the trip Eggers met Bjrk, who in turn introduced Eggers to Sjn. In 2017, Skarsgrd met Eggers to discuss future projects, but the discussion quickly turned to a Viking Agethemed film. Eggers subsequently reached out to Sjn and the two began researching and writing the screenplay.

The story of 'The Northman' was based primarily on the legend of Amleth as written by Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus, known as the direct inspiration for William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'. Eggers cited the 'Poetic Edda', the 'Prose Edda', 'Egil's Saga', 'Grettir's Saga', the 'Eyrbyggja saga' and the 'Saga of Hrolfr Kraki' as additional influences. Archaeologist Neil Price at Uppsala University, folklorist Terry Gunnell at the University of Iceland and Viking historian Jhanna Katrn Fririksdttir served as historical consultants on the film. Eggers also acknowledged 'Conan the Barbarian' as a source of inspiration.

In October 2019, it was announced that Eggers would direct an epic Viking revenge saga, which he would also co-write with Sjn. Skarsgrd, Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, Bill Skarsgrd (Alexander's brother), and Willem Dafoe were in talks to join the film. They would all be confirmed that December, along with the addition of Claes Bang to the cast. The film was officially in preparation in December 2019, and would begin filming in Belfast in 2020. In August 2020, Bjrk, along with her daughter sadra "Doa" Barney, Kate Dickie and Ethan Hawke joined the cast of the film. In September 2020, Bill Skarsgrd announced he had dropped out of the film due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced with Gustav Lindh.

Filming

Principal photography was to begin in March 2020, but it was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming started in August 2020, and wrapped early in December 2020, lasting 87 days. Most of the filming took place in Northern Ireland. King Aurvandill's village was constructed at Torr Head on the coast of County Antrim, while Fjlnir's farm was built at Knockdhu near Larne. The scenes in the Land of the Rus were filmed at Portglenone, the Clandeboye Estate, Shane's Castle and on the River Bann. The Hightown quarry outside Belfast stood for the volcano Hekla, where the film's climactic fight takes place. Brief sequences were filmed in Iceland at the Svnafellsjkull glacier and the town of Akureyri.

Post-production

The film cost between $7090 million to produce, which was higher than its original $65 million budget. Eggers found the editing process to be the most difficult of his career. Feedback from test screenings indicated that the film's first act was too slow. More feedback showed that audiences found the Old Norse dialogue difficult to understand, which resulted in most of it being replaced in ADR sessions. The final cut was eventually approved on November 3, 2021.

Release



Marketing

The film's advertising campaign briefly attracted notoriety due to a series of posters commissioned for the New York subway system that neglected to include the film's title. Within a day of the subject going viral on Twitter, the posters were removed. The film's advertising campaign additionally sponsored an episode of the web series 'Death Battle', with the midway segment of the episode featuring its characters interacting with the film and one of its axes.

Theatrical

'The Northman' was originally scheduled to be released on April 8, 2022, but was later pushed back to April 22, 2022. It was distributed by Focus Features in United States and by Universal Pictures internationally. Special screenings were held in several cities worldwide ahead of the theatrical release; in Stockholm at Rigoletto Cinema on March 28, in Hamburg at Astor Film Lounge on March 30, in Rome at Cinema Troisi on April 1, in London at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on April 5, in Belfast at Cineworld on April 6, and in Los Angeles at TCL Chinese Theatre on April 18. Wide releases began early in some countries; on April 13 in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, on April 14 in Czech Republic, Ecuador, Iceland, Mexico, Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia and Uruguay, and on April 15 in the United Kingdom and Lithuania.

Home media

'The Northman' was released on VOD on May 13, 2022, on digital on June 6, 2022, and on Blu-ray, DVD and 4K Ultra HD on June 7, 2022 by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment in the United States.

Tie-in media

A 160-page book written by Simon Abrams and Eggers about the film's production and research titled 'The Northman: A Call to the Gods,' was originally scheduled to be released on September 6, but was later pushed back to November 8, 2022.

Reception



Box office

'The Northman' grossed $34.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $35.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $69.6 million.

In the U.S. and Canada, 'The Northman' was released alongside 'The Bad Guys' and 'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent', and was projected to gross $815 million from 3,223 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $5 million on its first day, including $1.4 million from Thursday night previews. The film went on to debut to $12.3 million in its opening weekend, finishing fourth at the box office. 'Deadline Hollywood' noted that 'The Northman' and 'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent' were targeting the same demographic, which impacted their debuts. The film earned $6.4 million in its second weekend, finishing fourth, $2.9 million in its third weekend, finishing sixth, $1.75 million in its fourth weekend, finishing seventh, and $1.1 million in its fifth weekend, finishing tenth. It dropped out of the box office top ten in its sixth weekend with $249,660.

Outside of the U.S. and Canada, the film earned $3.4 million from 15 international markets in its opening weekend. It made $6.3 million in its second weekend after expanding to 41 markets, $4.5 million in its third weekend, $2.2 million in its fourth, $2.5 million in its fifth, $2.9 million in its sixth, and $1.4 million in its seventh.

Home media performance

Eggers commented on the film's underwhelming box office, stating that "[The film] met the expectations of a bad marketplace... Am I disappointed that, three to four weeks in, we're on VOD because that's the way things are done in the post-COVID world? Yeah. But it's doing great on VOD, so there you go." In its debut weekend on PVOD in the United States, the film was the top-rented title on iTunes, third on Vudu, and fourth on Google Play, making about the same amount of revenue as 'The Bad Guys' and 'The Lost City' despite grossing much less than both in theaters. IndieWire wrote that "'The Northman' looks like the type of film that, even with lower theatrical returns, is greatly elevated by that exposure." The following week it finished third on the iTunes and Vudu charts and fifth on Google Play.

In its debut week on DVD/Blu-Ray market, the film debuted at the No. 1 spot on both the NPD VideoScan First Alert chart (which tracks combined DVD and Blu-ray disc unit sales) and the Blu-ray disc sales chart for the week ending June 11, 2022. The film's DVD/Blu-ray discs had sold better than several other higher box-office grossers, such as 'House of Gucci', 'The Addams Family 2' and 'Jackass Forever'.

Focus Features (which financed 50% budget) later stated that the film did become profitable.

Critical response

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 89% based on 365 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A bloody revenge epic and breathtaking visual marvel, 'The Northman' finds filmmaker Robert Eggers expanding his scope without sacrificing any of his signature style." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 82 out of 100 based on 60 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it a 75% positive score (with an average 3.5 out of 5 stars), with 56% saying they would definitely recommend it.

'The Guardian''s Peter Bradshaw gave a 5 out of 5 score, praising the film's nihilistic tone and performances by the cast, stating that "It's entirely outrageous, with some epic visions of the flaring cosmos. I couldn't look away". 'Digital Spy''s Gabriella Geisinger gave a 5 out of 5 score and praised Eggers's visionary direction and the film's grisly and surreal atmosphere, claiming that "The world created in 'The Northman' is so totally absorbing". 'MovieZine''s Alexander Kardelo gave the film a 4 out of 5 score and particularly praised Skarsgrd's performance and Eggers' direction. 'IndieWire''s David Ehrlich called the film "primal, sinewy, gnarly-as-fuck", "grab-you-by-the-throat intense", and "never dull". 'Games Radar's Matt Maytum commented that the film is a "truly distinctive, unmissable epic" in his review, ultimately giving it a 5 out of 5 stars. 'The Independent's Clarrise Loughrey gave a 5 out of 5 stars and stated in her review that the film was a "beautiful risk". 'RogerEbert.com's Robert Daniels gave a 3 out of 4 score and praised the direction, cinematography, and cast performances, but found that the film "often stumbles when it searches for profundity". 'The Austin Chronicle's Richard Whittaker called the film an "extraordinary feat of cinema", commending the direction. 'The New York Times's A.O. Scott praised the world-building and cinematography, writing "Eggers's accomplishment lies in his fastidious, fanatical rendering of that world, down to its bed linens and cooking utensils".' The New Yorker''s Richard Brody found that the film "offers no synesthesia, no evocation of any sense beside vision" and criticized Eggers's direction, ultimately concluding: "'The Northman' merely serves up its raw material both half-baked and overcooked".'' 'Rolling Stone''s K. Austin Collins wrote that "Its an oft-stunning visual feast", but added "It is also an instructive example of how the most visionary intentions cant always enliven an otherwise rote story."

Accolades



References




Buy The Northman now from Amazon

<-- Return to movies from 2022



This work is released under CC-BY-SA. Some or all of this content attributed to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1110823652.