The Green Knight

The Green Knight, director David Lowery's film adaptation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, an anonymous 14th century poem, is a fantastical, visually intoxicating take on Arthurian legend.

- By Al Griffin

Following a night of drinking and carousing at the local brothel, carefree young Gawain of Camelot (Dev Patel) is summoned on Christmas morning to the Round Table, where he is invited to sit beside his uncle, the king. Gawain's feeling of unworthiness is only deepened by Arthur's graciousness, and by his request for the young man to share a story of himself so they may know each other better. But Gawain has nothing to share because, unlike the heroic knights gathered, he has so far done nothing brave or important in life. Suddenly, The Green Knight, a bizarre combination of man and foliage, intrudes on the scene and proposes a game where a member of the gathering is permitted one blow against him, with that blow to be returned one year hence. Sensing an opportunity to distinguish himself, Gawain volunteers to wield the sword against the monstrous Green Knight.