The Northman Review: Eggers' Viking Epic Is Brutal & Thrilling, Yet Lacking
Directed by Robert Eggers (who co-wrote the screenplay with Sjón), The Northman is a fascinating story of revenge — at least on the surface. A son avenging his father’s murder is a gruesome affair in The Northman, with Eggers leaning into Norse mythology and the legend of Amleth, who inspired William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The film has a lot going for it, fantastic battle scenes and mysticism that elevates the protagonist’s journey, but it is lacking in overall character.
Young Amleth (Oscar Novak) is thrilled that his father, King Aurvandil War-Raven (Ethan Hawke) is back, celebrating a victory against an enemy. Aurvandil believes it’s time for Amleth to become a man, and so he takes him to Heimir the Fool (Willem Dafoe), a jester and priest, to begin his training. However, everything changes for Amleth when his father is attacked and killed in front of his eyes and his mother, Queen Gudrún (Nicole Kidman), captured. Years later, an adult Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård) seeks to avenge his father and save his mother, leading him on a journey to restore his family’s honor and take back the life that was stolen from him.
Related: Why The Northman Will Be Bigger Than The Lighthouse (And The Witch)
The Northman lacks a sense of nuance in its characters and in its story. There is very little learned about Amleth following his father’s murder or how he came to be found by the Berserkers, a violent group who attack a village and kill most of its people. It’s hard to fully be invested in his character when there isn’t much depth to be found there beyond the obvious. Amleth’s mission is straightforward, but Eggers could have done a lot more to push his actions beyond the basic need to kill his father’s murderer, especially when he
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