David Lowery is a director who, from a generational perspective, I feel is all my own. Though he made his feature debut in 2009 with St. Nick it was 2013's Ain't Them Bodies Saints that put him on the map and the one I remember seeking out at my small, local arthouse theater to see if this was yet another imitator of Malick or if this was someone who would be building on his aesthetic with a fresh set of sensibilities. While Ain't Them Bodies Saints didn't knock me out with the emotional gut punch I recall hoping it would, Lowery would show everyone what he was made of a few years later with 2017's A Ghost Story which he'd been afforded the opportunity to make by hitching his wagon to the Disney train and re-imaging Pete's Dragon for them the year before. Pete's Dragon was a pleasant surprise - both in that Lowery had made it and that he'd been able to turn the campy 1977 film into something of a love letter to the innocence of childhood - which is all to say that A Ghost Story absolutely felt like Lowey making the kind of movie he'd always wanted to make and that he could finally afford to take a chance on. For me, that risk paid off as I absolutely adored A Ghost Story with Lowery's follow-up, The Old Man and the Gun, surprising me even more in 2018. While Lowery is now hard at work on another Disney adaptation which is yet another take on the J.M. Barrie novel, though this time it is titled Peter Pan & Wendy, Lowery first will deliver us The Green Knight or what is his take on the Arthurian story titled Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Dev Patel portrays Sir Gawain while Ralph Ineson's titular charater is certain to steal the show as his presence in this trailer alone is undeniable. I love how perfectly Lowery seems to have balanced his more introspective and challenging ideals he likes to base movies around with that of large scale, almost blockbuster-like visuals that he's employed the scope of here. The tone of the trailer is downright chilling and those aforementioned visuals are not only striking, but rather provocative in many ways; certain shots bringing with them immense amounts of weight regardless of dialogue or context. With the film originally set to premiere last May this feels as if it has been a long time coming. Needless to say, July can't come soon enough. The Green Knight also stars Joel Edgerton, Alicia Vikander, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie, Erin Kellyman, Barry Keoghan, and opens on July 21st, 2021.
Synopsis: An epic fantasy adventure based on the timeless Arthurian legend, The Green Knight tells the story of Sir Gawain (Dev Patel), King Arthur's reckless and headstrong nephew, who embarks on a daring quest to confront the eponymous Green Knight, a gigantic emerald-skinned stranger and tester of men. Gawain contends with ghosts, giants, thieves, and schemers in what becomes a deeper journey to define his character and prove his worth in the eyes of his family and kingdom by facing the ultimate challenger. From visionary filmmaker David Lowery comes a fresh and bold spin on a classic tale from the knights of the round table.
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