Monday, Film4, 9:00pm
Robert Eggers’ The Northman (2022) is a brutal, myth-soaked Viking epic that feels like the fever dream of a berserker on a vision quest. Loosely based on the Norse legend that inspired Hamlet, the film follows Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård) as he embarks on a lifelong, blood-soaked quest for vengeance against the uncle who murdered his father. Eggers, known for his meticulous approach to historical accuracy (The Witch, The Lighthouse), crafts a world that feels both dreamlike and grounded, filled with eerie rituals, prophetic visions, and the constant, looming presence of fate. It’s a tale of violence and destiny, told with a bone-crunching realism that makes you feel every swing of an axe.
The film’s soundtrack, composed by Robin Carolan and Sebastian Gainsborough, is an atmospheric masterclass in primal intensity. Ditching the usual orchestral grandeur of Hollywood epics, the score instead leans on guttural throat singing, pounding war drums, and bone-flutes that sound like they were carved from the remains of fallen warriors. The music doesn’t just accompany the action—it drags you, kicking and screaming, into the film’s raw, unrelenting world. There are echoes of Jóhann Jóhannsson’s Mandy score in its ritualistic, trance-like quality, but it also taps into something ancient, evoking the kind of sounds that might have echoed across the fjords a thousand years ago.
If The Northman feels like a lost saga carved into stone, then its soundtrack is the war cry echoing through history. Eggers delivers something that sits between the high-art ambitions of The Green Knight and the sheer brawn of Gladiator, while the score ensures that every moment drips with intensity. It’s the kind of film that reminds you why Vikings remain such an enduring subject of fascination—brutal, mystical, and larger than life. And if you don’t walk away from it wanting to forge your own sword and set sail for revenge, were you even paying attention?
- Noel Chambers