Vice and Virtue in THE GREEN KNIGHT

An adapted chivalric epic

David Lowery approaches filmmaking as poetry and not prose. His films emphasize highly stylized visual language and emotional provocation over other things general audiences prioritize like action or romance. These things are present in his films when the story calls for it but they are put into their time. In The Green Knight, Lowery demonstrates his mastery of time with intention and adept pacing to create a meditative fantasy epic with every frame a beautiful, living portrait.

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic Lowery was offered the rare gift of more time when the original release date for The Green Knight in July 2020 was delayed a full year by A24. In that year, the director reedited the film after realizing some of the project’s themes were less emphasized than he intended.

“It was more a question of pace and less of content,” Lowery described in an AMA. “I had cut the film too quickly initially. In returning to it, I let it breathe more and included more of the world… Thankfully I came to my senses.”
(Source: No Film School)

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